Project Angel: Revival
by Southpark
Summary: Con't from episode 24. Revival of Masafumi Schwartz's hunt for the lost Eszette ritual Schreient's reappearance Awakened of Omi's long forgotton past. What is the horrible truth behind the formation of Kritiker? Ken x Omi
1. Feather Rain

CODE01: +FEATHER RAIN+ Rain. Like a natural purity, it cleanses the vast earth, bringing not only coolness, but also freshness to all life. Yet, evilness still remains.   
  
Drips of rain poured and roared from the grayish, limitless sky. A hand reached out from its shelter to feel the drops of heaven tears spattering on its palm. Around, passerbys hurried across the afternoon streets of Tokyo like busy ants. Umbrellas of all kinds brought out vibrant colours to the concrete jungle like blooming flowers.  
  
  
  
A teenager was standing under a deserted lane of an old commercial building, waiting for the rain to stop. His bright eyes, young, yet filled with countless sadness stared into the sky as if hoping the sky could provide him with any answers. He was already seventeen years old, but his appearance and size made him look at least three years younger than what he really was. He wore his usual brown tight shirt and semi short dark pants, making him look small and almost invisible in the city where everyone ignore one another's presence, only engrossed in their own loneliness.  
  
  
  
It had been six months since the last destruction of the SZ organisation perished under the collapsing building, buried deep into the dark blue sea. Carefully avoiding the falling rocks and pillars, the four WeiB members hid their presence from the city. Peace seemed to have returned to the city. Fujimaya Aya regained from her two-year coma and Sakura returned to her normal school life, occasionally visiting Aya to assist her in the Florist shop taken over from WeiB. Burman and Manx returned to their normal police investigation routine. The Schwartz seemed to have vanished from the world after that fateful event. Perhaps, they had perished together with the SZ members under the deep blue sea.   
  
Yet, there were still some justices need to be done in the corrupted city. Crime rates rose. Robberies, murders, briberies were common. This was where the WeiB went in. Carefully concealing their identity, especially from Burman, Manx, Aya and Sakura, the members silently released the evil souls from the world. The existence of WeiB had been forgotten in this world.   
  
'But how long can this go on?' The teenager wondered to himself.   
  
The teenager was Tsukuyono Omi-the youngest member of WeiB. Despite his cheerful and optimistic outlook, the scars of Oka's death, the truth that he was the son of the notorious Takatori Reiji, the images of him killing his own brothers remained in the deepest part of his memories. His guidance and uncle-Persia or Takatori Shuichi had died in his arms and he failed even to rescue his uncle's corpse from the burning building. No matter how he tried to ignore this, the mystery why his father-Takatori Reiji had refused to pay his ransom when he was kidnapped many years ago continued to haunt him like a parasite.   
  
The older members of WeiB had gone off on some activities to relieve themselves after a tough mission. They had just eliminated the leaders of a drug organisation and they badly needed a break to get their minds off the bloodstained corpses they had newly created from the drug organisation leaders.  
  
Omi continued to stare into the vast open sky.  
  
Rain continued to fall. It brought many memories. Oka's death.. Persia's death.. When would it be his?   
  
Suddenly, Omi's eyes fell on a faraway, yet familiar figure rushing across the traffic lights. It was a young girl in plain simple dress. She was around sixteen years old. Her dark blue hair was tied in two plaints that bounced mischievously on her shoulders. In one hand, she held a flower basket and in another, a bright red umbrella.   
  
Omi knew her.   
  
Fujimaya Aya--Fujimaya Ran's younger sister. Omi had seen her many times when she was in her coma, but he had never seen her in her conscious self, not to mention talking to her even once.   
  
Suddenly, a deafening screech interrupted his thought. Turning his vision from the girl, he saw a long truck driving towards her direction in an alarming speed. Luckily, there were many vehicles moving on the road, cutting down the speed of the swerving vehicle. Like many people and absorbing in her own affairs, Aya did not notice her danger.  
  
"AYA-CHAN!! LOOK OUT!!!!!" Without thinking twice of the oaths he had made with the WeiB members not to disclose their existence in the society, Omi flunged himself towards Aya, pushed her out of the way of the approaching vehicle and grabbed the frame of the swaying door.  
  
Aya grasped, falling onto the ground. Flower basket and umbrella flew from her grip onto the road. Petals shattered like loose snowflakes.  
  
"How did you know.."Aya stammered, remembering that a young stranger had called out her name. She could not complete her sentences for Omi had already pulled himself up into the vehicle.   
  
The driver's head was resting on the driving wheel, his eyes wide and listless. White foams drooped from his slightly ajar mouth. He was already dead. Poisoned.  
  
Fuming to himself, Omi pulled the well-built driver from his seat and tried to step on the brake. Nothing happened. Someone must have dislocated the structure of the truck to make it lose control.  
  
If the truck could not be stop in time, many innocent lives would be lost. Omi tried to calm himself. Holding onto the driver wheel, hoping to divert the dangerous vehicle to a less populated area before abandoning it.  
  
He heard a cracking sound, following by a blast behind him.   
  
"Explosives!" The word shot through Omi's mind. He tried to swing himself from the trunk. To his horror, some unknown force gripped onto his feet, forcing him to paralyse in the seat. His eyes widened as a brick wall boomed into his view, followed by screams from nearby people and further cracking sounds from the back of the vehicle.   
  
Waves of heat dashed into him from behind. Almost immediately, a bright blazing light boomed before his eyes, almost blinding him. He could feel unbearable heat coursing through his veins, boiling his blood and driving all thoughts from his mind. Tongues of fire flickered around him, some shooting up into the sky and exploded. Rains of flame slowly descended down, very strangely, they turned into white fluffy feathers. Feathers of rain fell around Omi amidst the darkening sky. The burning sensation seemed to vanish all together.   
  
The shouts and commotions around the street became fainter and fainter. Darkness started to sink in faster. Amidst the darkness, a soft and monotonous, familiar yet distant voice began to echo repeatedly in the midst of the feather-falling sky.   
  
"Mamoru...Mamoru............Mamoru..........."   
  
TO BE CONTINUE.......... 


	2. The Legend continues

CODE 02: +The legend continues...+  
  
There are two types of people. One creates Heaven out of Hell while other creates Hell out of Heaven. Which group of people do you belong to?  
  
Six months and a week ago....  
  
A flash of lightning brightened the rain-fallen night sky, showing the withering trees entangling around a pile of building rumbles.  
  
Another flash. It revealed something clawing through the wasted bricks. It was a pale hand. Under the thunderstorm night, it looked ghastly than ever..  
  
The rain continued to fall.....  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
It was late evening, two members of WeiB-Fujimaya Ran and Kudou Yohji were waiting in a subway station of Tokyo. Ran was listening attentively to an announcement about a truck accident while Yohji was pulling out another cigarette while waiting for their youngest member to join them.  
  
"A very unstable society, isn't it?" Yohji blew out a puff of smoke into the air: "You'll never know when your life ends."  
  
"Humhh.." Ran replied without moving his eyes from the radio: "Where is Ken? He was with us a while ago?"  
  
"Out window shopping for sports stuff I guess, he is never the patient sort."  
  
"Rinngggggg....." A sudden sound interrupted the privacy of its owner in a busy subway station of Tokyo. A hand picked it up. A little line of word 'Bombay' appeared on the little screen.  
  
"Omi! Where are you now?" Ken called: "Do you know what I have found..."  
  
"Omi? Are you Omi's friend? He..." Instead of the expected bright teenage boy's voice, a girl's voice appeared on the other side of the line.  
  
The mobile phone slipped from Ken's hand and dropped onto the ground.  
  
"Omi..."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
The emergency lamp on the operation room was still lit. A teenage girl was sitting quietly, holding a mobile phone in her hands, her eyes staring aimlessly on the tiny screen of the handphone.  
  
- FLASHBACK -  
  
A series of bombs blew up in the truck as it crashed into an under construction building. Sparks of fire flew into the air.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" some passingbys shouted.  
  
"Hurry, someone might still be trapped inside that vehicle!!"  
  
"Save that effort, no one can survive in there!"  
  
Fire engines arrived to extinguish the flames. Ambulances arrived to send injured passingbys to hospital. Afar, Aya stood wide-eyed a far distance from the burning truck. The fire was too strong for anyone to go near. Some firemen broke into the driver seat to pull out the corpses inside. There were a lot of exclamations.  
  
"A boy is still breathing!! Send him to the hospital! NOW!!!"  
  
'A boy?' The words of the young stranger's words echoed once again in Aya's mind.  
  
["AYA-CHAN!!! LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!!"]  
  
'He is still alive! Who is he? How did he know my name?' Aya thought, her eyes traveling to a direction where a fireman cuddled a frail figure in his arms, placing the teenage boy onto a stretcher held out by medical assistants.  
  
Determined to know his identity, Aya hopped onto the same ambulance.  
  
"I'm his friend!" She called before the astonished staffs could say anything. She knew what they were going to ask.  
  
It was that time when she was able to take a closer look of the teenager. He was unconscious and there were several burns and soot on his face and limbs. He looked around fourteen to fifteen years old and his brown attire made him appear smaller than usual.  
  
'Tell me, who are you and how did you know my name?' Aya thought as she looked down onto the fine innocent face of the blond hair teenager. Of course, the boy could not answer her.  
  
"Excuse me, Miss, would you mind contacting his family members?" a staff suddenly interrupted her thought, passing her a mobile phone found in the pocket of the boy.  
  
- END OF FLASHBACK -  
  
"Aya-chan," A feminine voice called across the walkway: "Are you alright?"  
  
"Manx-san!" Aya called as she got up to meet the police inspector. She suddenly froze, her eyes widened in enormous size.  
  
"Aya-chan, what's wrong?" Manx asked with concern and swayed quickly to look back. Round the bend, three young men stood. One with red hair was staring in astonishment at the younger lady before him.  
  
"Ken, Aya (Manx did not know Ran's real name) and Yohji?!!!"  
  
"Onnichan!" Aya gasped.  
  
"Aya.." Ran whispered.  
  
"Oh no, looks like our six-months old oath is broken," Yohji sighed.  
  
"Manx, how is Omi?" Ken asked anxiously.  
  
"Omi.. he is still in a critical condition," Aya stammered.  
  
"Omi is in the operation room?" Manx echoed.  
  
"Hai."  
  
"How long has he been in?"  
  
"Around two hours."  
  
"Danmit!" Ken hit the wall with his fist: "How did this happen?"  
  
Just then, the red lights vanished. A few doctors stepped out of the room. Yohji studied their expressions in wonder. There was no sign of defeat, only confusions.  
  
"How is Omi?!!!" Ken grabbed the nearest doctor and started to shook him violently, yelling into his ears.  
  
"Easy, Ken, Omi is not in danger." Yohji called.  
  
"How is the young boy?" Aya asked anxiously, expecting the worst.  
  
"He suffers 20% serious burns," The chief surgeon replied: "And his condition has stablised, but he has to stay in the normal ward for observation at least a month."  
  
A bed was wheeled out with Omi sleeping peacefully on it. There were bandages on his face and limbs, but not intensive enough to make him look like a mummy.  
  
'How can this be possible?' Aya muttered to herself.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"Night news on NTV," the news reporter announced: "This afternoon, a truck filled with explosives ran across the street of .... Injuring at least twenty people who were on their way to work from lunch. A passingby hopped onto the truck, diverting the vehicle from the crowded area, finally collapsing onto an abandoned construction site. He is now in stable condition. The spokesman for police defied revealing further information. And now, the next news..."  
  
In the midst of the darkness, a man sat in a small apartment, watching the television news. His face was hidden in the shadows.  
  
"Heh, heh, seems that even the multimedia is trying to cover the details of that incident as well," His lips twisted to nibble a cigarette between his teeth, and his grin widened, showing his white teeth: "Let's see how long can they hold on...."  
  
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." A roar of laughter filled the silence night: "Ha ha ha ha ha....."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
It was late afternoon-the second day after the accident.  
  
Yohji leaned against the wall of Ward 305, watching the sleeping Omi on his bed. His eyes narrowed as Aya's words repeated in his mind.  
  
["He was trapped in a truck full of explosives and fire when it crashed into a building..."]  
  
'Figures, how can a normal human being survive under that condition? Let alone a young teenager.' Yohji thought: 'Am I overlooking something?' He was wary of the expressions wore on the doctors' faces.  
  
'No, there is something more.'  
  
His eyes traced across the ward. Ken was dozing by the bed, his head leaning on Omi's chest, probably exhausted and spent over the earlier excitements. Ran was outside the ward, obviously talking to his younger sister-Aya. They had not been talking together for almost three years and must have a lot to confess. Manx had returned to her office. She wanted to ask them more, but her cases were urgent.  
  
"I'll talk to you guys later. I demand an explanation." Manx left the words before her departure.  
  
For a long time, Ran and Aya did not say a word. So many events had happened and so many things had changed.  
  
Almost three years ago, they had a happy family, and Ran would always brought Aya to funfairs and other places to play. But now, their home was destroyed and Ran had changed drastically-both mentally and physically. His red hair had grown and he was no longer the naïve and cheerful brother she had always known.  
  
"How are you, Aya?" Ran finally broke the ice, hoping to strike a conversation. He had been thinking of many things to talk to her and many to ask her, but now, he found himself speechless before his younger sister.  
  
He did not expect his words to bring out such big response from her.  
  
"Where have you been?" Aya whispered, her voice trembled and shivered as her fists rolled into tight knuckles: "I have been thinking of you, day and night. I thought you were dead and I'll never be able to see you again. Why are you avoiding all of us? I feel so much alone. Otosan and okaasan are dead and with you gone... do you understand how I feel over these few months?"  
  
"Aya..."  
  
Aya's face continued to look down. Beads of tears tickled and spurted onto the floor: "Why, why are you avoiding me? I.. I..." Ran felt a tug onto his coat and Aya buried her face into his chest.  
  
"Please don't leave me anymore!!!!!"  
  
Ran remembered the nature of their activities ad how these could pose danger to his younger sister. They had set such oath after the last confrontation with the SZ, hoping to protect anyone around them. A broke of this oath would mean that his sister's peaceful life might never be the same again.  
  
"Aya, I ....."  
  
"NO!!!! YOU MUST PROMISE ME!!!!!!" Aya screamed in tears, hugging onto her elder brother tighter, fearing he would vanish before her eyes.  
  
"I.. I promise..."  
  
Later in the ward....  
  
"You WHAT???!!!!!!!" Yohji and Ken screamed on top of their voices in the ward. Aya was asked to change the water in the vase and for the time being diverted away from the room.  
  
"Shhhhhhhssssshhhh..," An annoyed nurse hissed in the ward while checking Omi's pulses: "The patient needs rest."  
  
"I want to leave WeiB," Ran said expressionlessly: "I do not want Aya to suffer alone anymore."  
  
"At a time when Omi is in this state?!!" Ken screamed. Another hiss from the nurse.  
  
"Think about it, Ran," Yohji said calmly, his hand slipping down to draw a cigarette. A fiery glare from the nurse forced his hand to withdraw. He paused and continued: "Someone wants Omi and most probably Aya-chan dead, maybe all of us. Are you trying to quit at a time like this?"  
  
"How can you be sure of it?" Ran frowned.  
  
"My instinct. Shall we discuss it in privacy back home?" Yohji replied, throwing a glance at the busy nurse.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Under the semi-darkness in the other part of the hospital, a man in suit was sitting comfortably, his back facing one of the operating doctors who had attended to Omi's wounds.  
  
"How is the condition of the patient in Ward 305?"  
  
"His pace of recovery is speedy. His cells are reproducing at an alarming pace and I found that he possesses some rare kind of enzymes that causes all of these to happen. We are still monitoring his DNA."  
  
"Good, keep up your job,"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
The doctor left, leaving the man alone reading a document file in the room. On the top right hand corner, the patient's name wrote: 'Tsukuyono Omi'.  
  
"Huh! The last surviving Takatori?"  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Omi was recovering fast. In less than three days, almost all his burns had healed and by the fourth day, he could walk around the place without anyone's support. His friends decided to leave him alone to recuperate.  
  
The WeiB returned back to the florist shop-much to the old florist lady's delight. Sakura had cried and laughed when she entered the shop, seeing Ran standing tall before her after so many months of separation. Burman sent them greetings before returning back to her post. The fast deteriorating stability had kept her and Manx busy everyday.  
  
"So are you going to continue the assassinating job?" Burman asked.  
  
"Yes." Ran replied briefly.  
  
It was fourteenth day after the accident. Omi was ready to be discharged. The WeiB members, Sakura and Aya went to bring him home.  
  
"Hello, Omi, still playing with your laptop on the day you discharge?" Yohji greeted as they entered the ward, as he found Omi tip-tapping on his computer again.  
  
"Yohji-kun, Ken-kun, Ran-kun, Sakura-san, Aya-chan! You're all here!" Omi exclaimed happily, waving a hand to gesture the other WeiB members closer.  
  
"What have you found?" Ran asked.  
  
"According to the information gathered from the media and police databases, the cause of the driver's death is a needle pricked into an important vein in his neck, resulting to respiratory problem. The truck and explosive belong to the military base located fifty miles from the accident scene. It is a mystery how the man can manage to smuggle thirty tones of bombs from the heavily guarded base all the way here."  
  
"So what's amiss?" Ken asked.  
  
"The man's identity was unknown and I have given the description of his appearance to the police before the explosion destroyed his corpse. Their database could not detect his background. I suspect he is probably a spy or undercover to smuggle the bombs for some illegal purpose. For some reasons, someone made use of the opportunity to create chaos on the street."  
  
"Then?"  
  
"That's all."  
  
"You have yet told us the full story, Omi," Ran said calmly, yet firm.  
  
"He has said everything, Onnichan. Come on, let's go home, Omi looks tired," Aya interrupted in.  
  
Ran gave Omi a look and everyone started packing up his stuff to head for home.  
  
It was a rainy day.  
  
As the car drove along the expressway, Omi looked out of the rain-beating window. It was the same rainy day, just like the day when the accident occurred.  
  
He thought of that paralyzing feeling that almost costed him his life... He thought of the way the truck drove down at Aya. It seemed that everything had been planned in advance. Someone was eyeing them, wanting them dead.  
  
"Yes, everything is not over," Omi thought.  
  
That very night, Manx was sitting by her computer dark and alone in the office, only illuminated by the lights from her screen. Her fingers were typing swiftly on the keyboard.  
  
//To TS:  
  
I have instructed the authority to cover up the truth of the truck accident to prevent unnecessary fears. Another thing, the WeiB boys are back.  
  
-From Manx//  
  
A finger pressed down.  
  
- MESSAGE SEND -  
  
to be continue....  
  
AUTHOR'S WORDS:  
  
Wow, one review, thank you so much (beaming with tears, knowing wat type of fic I'm writing, little or maybe no yaoi, no much interesting contents except mystery, suspension, adventures, fighting, some romancing, relationships etc. sniff!). yap, I love Omi-kun and I'm bit of upset over the incompleteness of the series ending. So much has not been explained, sigh! So that's why this fic is born, hee hee.. But dun worry, I'm very fair, all roles will have almost equal share of roles for I'm going to revive many characters here, kukukuku.. (go ahead and sue me for ku-ing, Naraku!) 


	3. Mission01: Into Lion's Den

CODE03: + 1st MISSION part 1 -INTO LION'S DEN+  
  
If given an opportunity, I wish I could vanish. (Hidaka Ken, Mission #16)  
  
A high pitched and despondent scream pierced into the night and fell silence. A teenage girl in around 17 to 18 years old, wide-eyed and listless laid dead on the muddy soil of a forest. Blood trickled from various deep cuts on her body. Besides her stood a man with white spiky hair. Something beamed in the darkness, mixed with flashes of red stained on it as he bought the object to his tongue slowly like a wine expert tasting the finest wine in the world.  
  
"Farfarello, you know well that you are not supposed to touch any of our catch even if they are trying to run," a voice interrupted: "Can't you leave your game in future...." A man in white suit merged among the trees, watching the white hair man, his glasses gleamed under the moonlight: "....on people like.....WeiB?"  
  
"Waiting hurts God," Farfarello muttered between his knife.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
It was another day in the florist shop.  
  
"Onnichan, you are sweating profusely, let me help you wipe your forehead!" Aya called earlier in the morning as Ran carried a pot of flowers out of the shop.  
  
"Ohaiyo, how are you, Ran?" Sakura greeted at the entrance of the shop.  
  
"Wow! Ran is totally surrounded by girls!" Yohji called enviously, knocking an elbow against Ken: "Right, Ken-Ken?"  
  
"Speaking of girls, who is going to deal with this crowd of girls in our shop?" Ken asked, watching the large group of girls shrieking and shouting inside and outside the shop.  
  
"Isn't that wonderful to have so many people in our shop again?" The old florist lady laughed warmly to her cat on her lap as if talking to it.  
  
"LUCKY! All four of them are in the shop! There's going to be something good happening today!" Some girls screamed excitedly.  
  
"Omi! Do something!" Yohji called the youngest member in the other end of the shop.  
  
"Hai, hai, hai, which flowers would you like to buy today?" Omi cheerfully attended the incoming visitors. Excited shrieks filled the shop as the girls surrounded the four boys. Sakura and Aya could only shake their heads and smiled.  
  
"Sorry, I'm only interested in girls more than 18 years old, not little kids like you," Yohji said, much to the girls' protests.  
  
"Kudo-san, Kudo-san, is that really you?" A feminine voice cried out, followed by a tug on Yohji's arm. It was a young lady of around early twenties.  
  
"Wow! That's Yohji's age type!" Omi gasped.  
  
A sweat dropped comically down Yohji's forehead: "Err, do I know you, Miss?" He tried to rummage through his memories of girls he had dated to match the one before his eyes. She was slightly in formal wear of office suit and tight office skirt. Although she wore simple make-up, she was good- looking.  
  
"I'm Suzuki Ai, a client in your detective agency (NB: we all know Yohji used to run a detective agency with Asuka before joining WeiB), remember the missing poodle case 5 years ago?"  
  
"Suzuki Ai? Poodle case 5 years ago?" Yohji scratched his head, trying to recall the cases he had went through.  
  
"Can you remember me or not?" Suzuki Ai pestered.  
  
"Err..Mmmmmm... AH!" Yohji hit his fist: "You had showed me its hair for a clue and in the end, Asuka and I had to spend three days and three nights to hunt for it. You were only a schoolgirl then! How much you have grown!!"  
  
"WO! Yohji sure has a group of ladies waiting for him!" Ken gasped in wonder.  
  
"That's Yohji," Ran said.  
  
"How can I help you, Suzuki-chan?" Yohji asked, combing his hair, expecting a date invitation.  
  
"I'm now teaching in a school and one of my students was missing mysteriously after school for a week, can you help me please?"  
  
"Doesn't her parents call the police?" Ken asked.  
  
"They did, but there is still no news of her and they are starting to throw the blame on me. Besides, she is a good girl and I'm worried for her safety!" Suzuki Ai almost bursted into tears.  
  
"Sorry, Suzuki-chan, I can't help you in the hunt because my detective agency has no longer exist," Yohji apologized.  
  
"But I can pay you double!"  
  
"I am sorry."  
  
"If Asuka is here, she wouldn't have said THAT to me!" Suzuki Ai screamed angrily.  
  
"Asuka..." The face of Asuka appeared in Yohji's mind.  
  
"Alright, treat that I've never come here before!" Suzuki snarled and prepared to go.  
  
"Chotto, I never say no," Yohji called behind her.  
  
"Really? Then that's a deal!" Suzuki smiled with tears still in her eyes.  
  
"Yohji, are you serious?" Ken whispered. Yohji nodded.  
  
"Leave me out of this," Ran said.  
  
"Don't put me into this matter too," Ken said.  
  
"Omi!" Yohji called.  
  
"Aya-chan! Let's go to school, we're late!" Omi shouted, pulling Aya out of the shop with their bags.  
  
"I got to go to, bye, Ran-san!" Sakura waved and ran after them.  
  
"HOW CAN YOU ABANDON ME LIKE THAT!!!!!!!" Yohji screamed at the running Omi from the entrance of the shop: "YOU DISGRACEFUL KID!!!"  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Later that evening...  
  
"Still doing your homework?" Ken asked as the weary looking Yohji stumbled back to the basement after roaming out in the street for evidence.  
  
"Any findings?" Ran asked.  
  
"Nope, Omi's much better in tracking job.."  
  
"Speaking of devil..." Ken said.  
  
"Hi, everyone, we're back!" Omi greeted as he and Aya returned from school.  
  
After the WeiB's return, Ran had insisted Aya to go back to school. To reduce her anxiety, he sent her to the same school as Omi. Aya had last attended school when she was 16 years old before her coma. Since she still retained her 16-year-old look, she went to Class 2 B while Omi went to Class 3 C.  
  
Yohji slapped Omi's back: "Hi, Chibi! I need your help!"  
  
"Chibi?" Omi almost choked from the hit.  
  
"A mission, guys!" Manx's voice rang as she walked down the spiral staircase with Burman. Turning to Aya: "Gomen, would you mind leaving this room for a while?"  
  
Aya had already been told about the nature of her brother's secret occupation and readily agreed.  
  
The lights were switched off.  
  
"Good day, WeiB," the computerized image of Persia appeared on the screen: " Since the past two weeks, there has been at least 40 cases of teenage girls abducting incidents. They were all last seen in a nightclub called 'zombie'. My white assassinators, help these villains rewrite their tomorrow."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
"Is that all?" Ken gasped in disbelief. There was too little clues.  
  
"Isn't there anymore informers in your police department?" Yohji grumbled.  
  
"Probably they are all eliminated during our last battle with SZ," Ran said emotionlessly without moving his eyes from the blank television screen.  
  
"Stop complaining, guys," Manx said: "We've done our best..."  
  
"Besides we have no informers who look like teenage girls to sneak into the enemy's den," Burman continued for Manx: "So far, no corpse of the missing girls are found."  
  
"Yohji, I have helped you look up for the daily activities of your friend's student-Miyuki," Manx said, handing a piece of paper to Yohji: "She comes from a broken family and has gone to several night spots after school, doing several unhealthy activities like drugging and gang fights. The percentage of her getting involved in this case is very high."  
  
"And Suzuki said she was a good girl!" Yohji sighed. It was so hard to define a person's real character from one perspective.  
  
"So, will all be participating?" Burman asked, holding a clipboard.  
  
"I'm in," Ran said.  
  
"So do I," said Yohji.  
  
"Count me in," Ken raised his hand.  
  
"I've no objection," finished Omi.  
  
"Good," Manx smiled: "That'll be WeiB's 1st mission after revival."  
  
"Isn't there any other way to sneak into the club without using young girls as baits?" Ken asked.  
  
"Unfortunately, no," Manx said: "Because our target is too cautious."  
  
"There's no young girl in our team. We can't supposedly ask Aya-chan or Sakura-san to take on the risk!" Yohji protested.  
  
"Well.." Omi muttered: "I've a hysterical suggestion.."  
  
"Wait, don't ever suggest Burman or Manx to act as bait, because they aren't young..." Manx shot a fiery glare at Yohji.  
  
"No.. , it's.." Omi said uncertainly.  
  
"WHAT???!!!!" Ken and Yohji screamed on top of their voice into Omi's face later: "YOU?! Disguise as a GIRL??!!!!!!"  
  
"Seems that it's the only way," Ran said.  
  
"Ran! Talk Omi OUT OF IT!!!!!!" Ken cried out, shaking Ran by his shoulders.  
  
"Omi, are you sure you want to do this?" Ran asked.  
  
"Hai, I've made up my mind," Omi replied firmly.  
  
"I'll give you a hand, Omi," Manx volunteered.  
  
'Uncle...' Omi thought as his eyes turned back to the television screen. His uncle-Persia or Takatori Shuichi was killed during a mission and Manx had created a computerized image of him to motivate WeiB. But somehow, he felt something empty deep inside. This hollowness kept gnawing in him whenever he looked at the soulless image, knowing that Persia was already dead.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"This is CRAZY!!!!" Ken complained the twentieth times as he shifted uneasily in a car with Yohji and Ran in a deserted carpark.  
  
"This is not the first time Omi has volunteered to be a bait, Ken-Ken," Yohji said the twentieth times.  
  
"BUT Omi disguising as a girl! That IS the first time!!" Ken screamed.  
  
"Shut up, haven't you disguised as a girl before during the nuclear diskette case (refer Mission # 01 in the series)?" Yohji reminded.  
  
"Quiet, I'm trying to track Omi's signal," Ran said.  
  
Silence fell.  
  
Two minutes passed.  
  
"Oi," Yohji broke the ice: "By the way, have any of you seen Omi in feminine outfit? I'm curious."  
  
"Ask Manx," Ken said wearily: "Only she saw him in the clothing."  
  
"Forget it," Yohji waved a hand as he peered from Ran's shoulder to see the screen on Omi's laptop.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
The neon light flashed the word 'Zombie' across the signage outside the night club.  
  
Inside, smoke shrouded the ground as colourful lights danced across the hall in a messy rhythm. Loud music pounded while young bodies swayed in exotic movements.  
  
A slim body made its way in the midst of the sweating people. It seemed that the cold air-con was not enough to cool down this excited crowd.  
  
Long layered honey colour hair flowed smoothly down the person's back as she sat quietly in one corner, stirring her drink as if wondering whether she should drink. She wore black-leathered jacket, tight mini skirt and a pair of long black shiny boots, looking like one of the rebellious teenage girls dancing and drinking with their friends in other part of the club.  
  
"I wish this mission will finish soon. I'm a guy!" the person thought smugly. She (actually he) was Omi in disguise. Manx had bought an attached wig to make his original hair appear longer from behind as well as stuffed sports bra to protrude like breasts. His feature was already feminine with bright sky blue eyes, thick eyelashes and well-shaped lips, saving the torture of strong make-up to the relief of Omi. His small shoulder frame and height saved him the embarrassment of looking like a transsexual from outside.  
  
"Hi, Miss, are you lonely? Care to join me in the fun?" A man in his early thirties asked as he put his arm around Omi, purposely caressing the boy's shoulder.  
  
"Leave me alone," Omi said, careful not to leave any male traits in his tone.  
  
"Make me," the man whispered and blew in Omi's ear as he ran his other hand on Omi's smooth thighs within his skirt. Omi almost jolted up from his seat.  
  
~SMACK!~  
  
Omi gave him a tight slap across his face quickly.  
  
"Why, you bitch..." The man growled and grabbed Omi's wrists.  
  
"Leave her alone," A new voice said.  
  
"Who do you think you are? Can't you see I'm busy?" The man growled, pulling Omi closer.  
  
"She does not want to play with you. So get lost!" The newly arrived said firmly. Omi turned to look up at him. The newly arrived man was in his mid twenties and was a head taller than Omi. He had thick eyebrows and broad shoulders and his suit wear made him look outstanding in the night spot.  
  
The first man growled, released Omi's wrists and flew a blow at the second man. Like a lightning, the second man dodged and buried his fist deep into the first man's stomach. Growling and swearing, the first man moved painfully away.  
  
"Thanks," Omi said, rubbing his wrists: "How should I address you?"  
  
"Takashi Rei, what's your name?" The second man asked.  
  
"Om... Hitomi, Takatori Hitomi," Omi lied.  
  
"Oh.., Takatori Hitomi....," Takashi Rei muttered, trying to memorise the name.  
  
Omi almost felt like laughing out loud, thinking: 'Well, I'm not 100% lying, I am Takatori by blood.' It felt so good, playing a little prank on the late notorious Takatori Reiji.  
  
"You don't look like clubbing here," Omi said, looking at Takatori Rei's outfit.  
  
"I'm discussing business with my company clients over there," Takashi pointed to a group of men in formal suit: "See you and take care of yourself. It isn't a safe spot for young girls like you."  
  
"Thanks for your advice," Omi said.  
  
"Jah, Takatori-san."  
  
"Bye, bye!"  
  
'Back to mission,' Omi sighed. It seemed that whenever he went on a mission as a bait, something interesting would interrupt like dancing with Oka one other time.  
  
'Oka-san...' Omi thought longingly.  
  
Suddenly, his ears picked up a soft conversation behind.  
  
"Watch that girl in black, she's a good one," Two men were whispering between themselves.  
  
'Come, come, my little targets...' Omi smirked secretly to himself.  
  
"Good evening, Miss, are you alone here?" One man in black asked.  
  
"Are you talking to me?" Omi asked, pretending to look irritated.  
  
"Yes, Miss, we have something interesting for lonely girls like you to see."  
  
"Can you think of a more innovative way to woo girls?" Omi frowned.  
  
"This one is really interesting," A man said, pulling out something flat and squarish and opened its lid before Omi's eyes.  
  
Omi raised an eyebrow and peered inside. His fine face was reflected in it.  
  
"Hey, it's just a mir..." Omi grumbled, but felt the world suddenly spin around him. He felt himself collapsing into one of the mans' arms.  
  
Everything turned black....  
  
To be continue...  
  
AUTHOR'S WORDS:  
  
YAHHH!!!! More reviews from u guys!!! ARIGATO!!!! Sniff, too touch, too touch. u guys are great!  
  
For this chapter, I got a bit of inspiration from other manga---F-Compo, wonder how u think.. Maybe a bit hentai, guys dressed in feminine clothes?? Dunno if I'm the first to do that. :P For the next chapter, there may be slight, mild yaoi contents (sorry I think my earlier promise seems to break), so for those who are not comfortable with yaoi, do be wary. 


	4. Mission01: Against all Odds

CODE04: + MISSION 01 part 2 -AGAINST ALL ODDS+  
  
The world is so full of ugliness that I wish I could hide myself forever in the darkness far away from this world....  
  
It was already past two hours, but there was still no signal from Omi.  
  
Yohji put his legs down from the driving wheel.  
  
"What's taking that boy so long?" Yohji grumbled: "You both keep watching the screen. I need a puff."  
  
"Don't take too long," the red hair leader said briefly.  
  
"I know, I know," Yohji sighed: "I'll be right back."  
  
He walked out of the car, stretched himself, trotted to the open road and lit a cigarette. The street was bustling with people seeking for nightlife.  
  
"Phew!" Yohji puffed out: "It's so good to be alive."  
  
Suddenly, someone banged into him by his shoulder, without an apology, the people walked off.  
  
"Oi!" Yohji shouted. Instantly, his eyes went straight.  
  
Greenish hair, familiar back....  
  
"Asuka!" Yohji screamed and darted among the crowd after her.  
  
"Hey!! Watch where you are going?!!!!" someone shouted as Yohji banged around looking for the person, but she was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Asuka...." Yohji thought.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Omi ran and panted heavily. Fire burned around him. There was no escape. Explosions blew up, aggravating the already large fire. Sparks of fire flew into the air, turning into feathers as they spiraled down gently. The fire vanished immediately, leaving Omi standing in the midst of the darkness and falling feather.  
  
Something wet and cold suddenly jerked him up from his sleep. He stirred and tried to lift his heavy eyelids.  
  
"See, she's awake," A man said.  
  
"She? Who is the 'she' he is referring to?" Omi wondered and suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be in the middle of his mission.  
  
Two vague figures loomed above him against the dim artificial light.  
  
A familiar voice blew a whistle: "Pretty blue eyes she has, how did you manage to find such a rare beauty?"  
  
"She was sitting alone in a corner, Schuldig-sama," the other man replied.  
  
'SCHULDIG???!!!!' Omi's mind suddenly snapped awake. The vision became clearer. Omi found himself lying on a cold hard ground, bound and gagged. Squatting besides him were one man in black met earlier in the night club and other was a tall German man with sunglasses on his reddish orange spiky long hair.... Schuldig!  
  
"Hey, kitty, do you know me?" Schuldig asked.  
  
"I'm in trouble, he is good in mind-reading," Omi groaned in his thoughts.  
  
"I say, she even knows my special ability," Schuldig mused as he ran his fingers along Omi's round earring: "You look kinda familiar, have we met before?"  
  
"Nonononononono!!!!!" Omi screamed in his mind fearfully, trying hard not to think further in-depth.  
  
"What's your name?" Schuldig asked.  
  
'Hitomi,' Omi forced himself to think.  
  
"Hitomi? Nice, cute name, that reminds me of sweet little Omi in WeiB, doesn't it? Except a difference of 'Hit' in front of 'Omi' though," Schuldig teased, watching Omi's expression.  
  
Omi tried to appear as blank as possible, his heart pounding as hard that he thought it was going to pop out of his mouth.  
  
"This girl is an interesting specimen. Don't let her escape," Schuldig said as he left the room.  
  
"Hai, Schuldig-sama," The man in black said, getting up to open and close the door for Schuldig. The room was engulfed in semi-darkness, only dimly lit by one small electrical light bulb hanging from the ceiling. A small curtainless window reflected dancing branches amidst the wind howling night and a crescent moon hanging in the sky.  
  
'Where am I?' Omi wondered, looking around him. There were several kidnapped girls lying unconsciously nearby.  
  
Just then, the door opened, revealing other man in black whom Omi had met before in the pub and a new man with large stomach and flowery shirt.  
  
"Hey, has Schuldig examined the goods?" The plump man asked with unclear tone as his teeth were busy chewing a cigarette that was already burnt to its tip.  
  
"Hai, he has just left," the earlier man said: "Thanks to your generosity in allowing us to operate in 'Zombie' or we wouldn't have make so much profit from the Schwartz."  
  
"What are they going to do with so many girls?" Other man asked curiously.  
  
"Probably sell them as prostitutes, isn't that what most human traffickers do?" The plump man muttered, as if enjoying the burnt cigarette.  
  
'The Schwartz? Weren't they supposed to be dead in the building during the last battle with SZ?' Omi thought.  
  
"How long are we going to keep these girls?" one man in black asked.  
  
"By 3am the next morning," The plump man replied: "Mr Crawford wants us to deliver these goods, including those abducted during the past two weeks onto a ferry stopped by the lake side."  
  
'3am the next morning?' Omi thought. He looked at the sky. Judging from the colour of the sky, it was probably around 12 to 1am. No more time to lose.  
  
Omi's fingers moved to activate a button on his belt.  
  
-WEIB ACTION-  
  
"Schuldig seems to be especially interested in the girl over there," The first man in black said, pointing at Omi.  
  
"HEY! What is she doing?!" The plump man shrieked in his cracking voice, moving steadily towards Omi at the same time.  
  
"She's alerting someone!!" The nearest man in black shouted, tugging Omi's belt.  
  
Swiftly, Omi moved his feet up and kicked the man away. Drawing a dart from his sleeve, he silted his wrists free. Moving further, he kicked the plump man, sending him howling in pain on the floor. He pulled out his gag from his mouth and was just in time to fly two darts, blocking the other two men's gun barrels. Shaking with fear, they made their way to the exit. A dart buzzed past them and pierced into the door. Their legs gave way below them.  
  
"Where are you going to send these girls?" Omi interrogated sternly.  
  
"We....." A gunshot sounded. Their eyes suddenly went straight and listless as they fell onto the ground, blood oozing from the wounds on their backs.  
  
"No, Schuldig-sama, please forgiv....," The plump man pleaded.  
  
Another shoot. The man died, his eyes still wide-opened, not bearing to leave the world so soon.  
  
"Heh! I just know these three morons cannot be trusted," Schuldig's voice rang: "Right, Tsukuyono Omi?"  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
A car darted wildly into the forest, branches and leaves beat against the window. Inside sat the other WeiB members, they had just received Omi's signal.  
  
Suddenly, someone leaped before the car, blocking its way.  
  
Yohji fumed and diverted the vehicle from the person's way. The light fell on the person. Farfarello! He turned to grin at them in a ghastly way as the car brushed past the one-eyed man.  
  
"Am I seeing things?" Ken asked.  
  
Suddenly, an invisible force crushed into the car, sending it flying against a row of trees.  
  
"JUMP!!!!" Ran shouted, swiftly slicing the belts loose from the three of them with his katana. The trio was just in time to leap before the car exploded into a ball of fire.  
  
"I will not let you pass," A young voice said. A teenager in grey suit stepped out under the dim moonlight. Nagi!  
  
"Whoa! I'm seeing ghosts," Yohji joked, still panting.  
  
"Where are Crawford and Schuldig?" Ran commanded. His eyes narrowed, watching his back by the corner of his eyes. Farfarello stepped out behind them and blocked their back path.  
  
"It's so nice to see all of you safe and sound," A man in white stood out; it was Crawford: "..WeiB.." Schuldig did not appear as what they expected.  
  
'Danmit.. Omi!' Yohji gritted his teeth worryingly. He knew the blond youth was no match for the tall German mind reader.  
  
"Are you behind all these kidnapping?" Ran asked warily.  
  
"Precisely!" Crawford smiled: "Shall we continue from where we have stopped six months ago?"  
  
"We have no time for you," Ran said coldly.  
  
"Ran, we got more important things to do! Let's get out of here! NOW!!" Ken cried out as he dodged away from Farfarello's attack.  
  
"Really? But I've got something very interesting to show you," Crawford said causally. He suddenly shot his fists, attacking Ran in lightning speed, predicting exactly every Ran's movement.  
  
A photo shot towards Ran's direction. His eyes caught its content as it flew in slow motion onto the ground. His face flashed pale.  
  
"Do you believe my words now?" Crawford's attack did not slow down. In fact, it went faster and faster.  
  
At the other side, Ken and Yohji were having trouble fighting Farfarello and Nagi. Farfarello grinned widely as he swung his knives faster and faster. Nagi's force kept the two WeiB members from attacking in their full potential.  
  
"Whose photo is that?" Ken asked Yohji as they tried to dodge more attacks from Farfarello who seemed immune from their weapons.  
  
"How is it?" Crawford laughed heartedly.  
  
"WHERE HAVE YOU KEPT HER??!!!!" Ran roared in anger, his katana moving faster and harsher.  
  
"Oi, RAN!!! Is that Sakura or Aya-chan?" Yohji panted. Ran was so overwhelmed with anger that he did not answer Yohji's question.  
  
"Your late friend's long lost daughter," Crawford answered instead: "I've already reminded you that you'll be very interested."  
  
"Don't waste your time on them! Omi's life is in danger!!" Ken screamed frustratedly.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Omi's body flew and was slammed against the wall by strong force. He clenched his stomach in pain. Schuldig strolled causally, towering before him, rubbing his fists.  
  
"How pathetic, a big boy, like you disguising as a girl. Don't you have any pride left in you anymore?" Schuldig mocked sarcastically.  
  
"That's none of your business" Omi gritted his teeth as he tried to stand on his feet.  
  
"I'm not used to beat up a girl.." Schuldig said: "But to a hentai like you.." He grabbed Omi by his collar and drove his fist deep into Omi's stomach: "There's no mercy!"  
  
Omi's feet gave way under him as he collapsed against the wall, panting breathlessly. Schuldig hovered over Omi's half limp body.  
  
"Hey, boy," Schuldig squatted before Omi, clenching the boy's neck tight, digging his fingernails into the soft flesh: "Tell me, what have you achieve in life? You are an unwanted kid; you can't even save your loved ones. You are just a puppet assassinator who only receives instruction blankly from the top. What are you living for?"  
  
Omi winced inwardly in pain, not able to say a word. The hand was choking him.  
  
Another hand slammed against the wall besides him. Schuldig's face neared Omi, their distance too close for comfort. Omi could feel Schuldig's breath blowing onto his face. Omi's body trembled and he tried to shift his face away so that he would not have to face the red-hair man's eyes, but in vain.  
  
~He's right, I'm always so useless. If I've been strong like Ran or Yohji, Oka and Persia wouldn't have died...~ Omi could not help thinking as the past flashed in his mind and remembering how he had been reliably on other members' strength during the missions.  
  
~Yes, that's right, you are always a burden to your friends. When the time comes, they'll still abandon you like your father did. What would you do then?~ Schuldig's voice rang in Omi's head.  
  
Omi felt tears piercing his eyes, threatening to leak out. Schuldig watched in amuse. Already Omi looked pretty in the feminine clothes. With his tearful eyes and fragile body, he looked like a beautiful young angel for people to hold. Schuldig released his hand from Omi's throat and grabbed the boy's chin firmly so that his eyes met his prey's. Omi felt himself stiffened; he had a strange feeling welling up in him. Schuldig leaned forward.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Omi gasped and tried to put up a struggle, but his limbs were too sore and tired to move. He spattered and tried to move his face away as the older man's lips neared his.  
  
~Isn't it obvious, beauty? I'm going to kiss you.~ Schuldig's mocking voice rang in his head.  
  
Omi's blue eyes widened with fear and disgust.  
  
"What are you trying to do with Takatori-san?" A familiar voice suddenly interrupted. Omi remembered him. Takashi Rei!  
  
"Heh! Are you trying to be a hero saving a beauty in distress, Takashi- san?" Schuldig grinned sarcastically, still holding Omi by his shoulder and chin.  
  
"Let her GO!" Takashi Rei swiftly moved to their side and attacked so that Omi would not be hit.  
  
Omi was worried; he knew how ruthless Schuldig could be. He did not wish to see someone getting hurt just because of him.  
  
"How thoughtful!" Schuldig laughed: "No fun. I'll come for your girl next time. So long!" To Omi's astonishment, Schuldig blew a mockingly affection kiss at Omi and leaped out of the window.  
  
~At least I see one of your new helper's face. I'll get back next time.~ Schuldig's voice trailed away in Omi's mind.  
  
"WAIT! He's not..." Omi cried out, fearing that this stranger would get into unnecessary trouble in future because of WeiB. But Schuldig was gone out of sight.  
  
Omi felt a strong arm encircled him into an embrace and lifted him bodily from the ground.  
  
"That man might get more helpers into this house. Let's get out of here!" Takashi Rei whispered in Omi's ears.  
  
Omi peered up at the man weakly and tried to protest, but exhaustion soon overcame him as he passed out. He did not register as Takashi carried him out of the house..  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
~Mission accomplished.~ Schuldig's voice wheeled into his leader's mind.  
  
~Good. Group disperse.~ Crawford returned the message.  
  
"The time's getting late. We'll play next time," Crawford said. Together with Nagi and Farfarello, they went off in a nearby waiting car. The engine roared alive and soon they were out of sight.  
  
Ran collapsed onto the ground in a half-kneeling position besides the fallen picture. It was a smiling father carrying his ten year old daughter. The man was Boston.  
  
"What is it, Ran?" Ken asked in concern.  
  
"Hazimi. Boston's long lost daughter," Ran's reply was brief.  
  
"Let's hurry up. Omi's waiting for us," Yohji said.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Blue eyes fluttered beneath the thick eyelashes as consciousness regained. Takashi Rei's concern eyes met Omi's. Startled, he pulled himself up and found himself lying on a comfortable bed by a large window, overseeing the starry sky and greenish lake.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
Takashi Rei reached a hand to smoothen Omi's honey colour hair: "I found a ferry by the lake side and thought we might rest here for time being."  
  
Omi struggled to sit up. Instantly, pain shot up his spine and limbs. He bit back his moan and continued his attempt to struggle out of bed.  
  
"I got to get going. Thanks for saving me. And remember; don't get yourself involved in any matters relating to that red-hair man or me in future. You'll get yourself into unnecessary trouble." Omi said weakly and made his way to the door. He was still puzzling why Takashi Rei would find his way to the house, but he did not look like one of SZ. Omi hoped he would not see this man again.  
  
"Wait, you are still unwell to walk."  
  
"Arigato," Omi turned to look back slightly: "We'll part here."  
  
Suddenly, a strong pull tugged the boy's arm, bringing the boy's body back towards the older man. A hand reached behind the boy's head and his lips crushed onto Omi's.  
  
Omi's eyes widened with shock. Takashi Rei felt a stingy smack across his cheek.  
  
"Go..Gomen ne sai.." Omi shuttered: "I didn't mean to." He pulled his hand from Takashi Rei's grip and made his way painfully out of the place, not turning back.  
  
~Takatori-san, I'll never forget you...~ Takashi Rei looked longingly behind Omi's faltering back.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Ran, Ken and Yohji banged into the house with full speed. Three corpses of the masterminds and several unconscious girls lying on the ground met their eyes.  
  
"OMI!!!!!!" Ken and Yohji called over and over again around the house as they hunted all over but received no response.  
  
"Someone is coming," Ran said, looking out of the house.  
  
True enough, a small figure was trotting slowly towards their direction.  
  
"OMI!!!" Ken screamed and ran to meet the figure.  
  
"Ore?" Ken's eyes went straight. Instead of the WeiB youth, it was a honey colour hair teenage girl in black jacket and tight mini skirt.  
  
"Gomen, I thought it was my..."  
  
"Ken-kun," The girl spoke wearily in Omi's voice: "It's me. Are the girls safe?"  
  
"Omi!" Ken gasped and managed to take a better look of the person under the dim moonlight. Though the hair was slightly longer and the person wore plain makeups, he was none other than Tsukuyono Omi.  
  
"Whoa, Omi, you look 'pretty'," Yohji whistled.  
  
"What happen? Why are the three of you covered with bruises? Did.."  
  
"Yes, the Schwartz. They are still alive." Ran spitted with deep hatred: ". with Boston's daughter in their hands."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Back to their house..  
  
"Out of the 40 missing girls, 39, together with 14 newly abducted are found bound in an abandoned house. One corpse of a girl--- Sato Miyuki is uncovered in the forest. Their abductors are found dead in the scene." The news on television reported.  
  
"How's your old friend-Suzuki Ai, Yohji?" Ken asked.  
  
"She could not get over her student's death and has left without repaying me." Yohji sighed sadly.  
  
"I did not know you are the money-concerned type." Ken said.  
  
"No, I just cannot believe that she actually leaves without accepting my DATE!!!!" Yohji winced loudly, pulling his hair: "Am I really that UNATTRACTIVE???!!!!!!!"  
  
Ken and Omi face faulted.  
  
"When will Yohji-kun be more serious??" Omi clenched his fingers comically.  
  
"Let's ignore him." Ken said.  
  
"Where's Ran-kun?" Omi asked as Aya entered the room.  
  
"Oniichan has been keeping to himself on the rooftop the moment he came back. What has happened earlier?" Aya whispered in concern.  
  
~He must be still worrying for Boston's daughter. No matter what, Boston has sacrificed his life to save Ran-kun before." Omi thought deeply.  
  
Up on the rooftop, the WeiB leader stood, watching the faraway stars scattering across the night sky. The memory of Boston smiling back at him as he was burnt right before his eyes keeping appearing in his mind eye.  
  
~Don't worry, Boston. I'll fulfill your dream. I'll get your daughter back safe and sound.~ Ran's eyes narrowed. The image of the paper plane drifting through the sky rose in his mind....  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Rows of words flew across the computer screen like running water.  
  
[To TS:  
  
The WeiB boys have just cracked a kidnapping case. But the case is not over yet, for the Schwartz is still alive.  
  
From Manx.]  
  
In the semi-dark office, Manx heaved a sign of relief as she sent her message. The computer was formerly owned by Persia or rather Takatori Shuichi--- her immediate superior. She fondly ran her fingers over the keyboard and shut the computer.  
  
Securing the office with her fingerprint, she headed for her car parked in the basement. Her high-heeled shoes produced a piercing trotting sound in the dead quiet night. As she walked, she fished her keys to open the door.  
  
She paused.  
  
Something invisible forced her oil tank to explode. Searing fire drove towards her. Experienced with years of training and alertness, she leaped swiftly along the direction of the fire like an agile cat. Shattering metals clanged and the fire slowly subsided.  
  
The smoke slowly cleared to show Manx lying under a small pile of remains known as her car's. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to get up, but in vain.  
  
'Good, at least I can still feel the pain. That means my limbs are still attached to my body.' Manx thought. She knew she had escaped just in time or a few seconds of delay could send her to the door of Hell.  
  
A pair of stylish black shoes appeared before her eyes.  
  
She looked up with a startle. A familiar face met hers. Though she had never meet him directly in person before, she had came across his file several times in her records. But this time, there was a difference. His eyes. Instead of dark, it was golden.  
  
A sneaky smirk.  
  
"How are you, Manx-sama?" He said, especially emphasized the word 'sama' sarcastically.  
  
~Masafumi! Isn't he supposed to be dead?!~ Manx's eyes widened with shock.  
  
"Shall we finish her off, Masafumi-sama?" Another familiar voice. Crawford Brad. He was sitting in a nearby car at the driver's seat.  
  
"A moment, Brad," the 'supposed-to-be-dead' Takatori Masafumi tossed an eye back and returned his piercing gaze back to the injured figure at his feet.  
  
"Tell me, was Omi's accident caused by you?" Manx snarled painfully beneath her breath.  
  
"Exactly, I've found a new strength to manipulate invisible forces after I was resurrected under a building rumbles. Thanks to the Schwartz for releasing me from my cylinder. What I have to do is to send that vehicle down the street and paralyse that boy in it. Too bad, it did not kill him."  
  
"Monster..." Manx snarled under her breath.  
  
"Do not call me a monster, lady," He bent down and almost whispered into Manx's ears: "Who's the one using human being as guinea pigs and turn them into killer machines? You know jolly well, Manx-sama."  
  
Masafumi got up and went back to the car, ignoring Manx's presence.  
  
"Leave her alive. I want her to witness our New Order."  
  
The car drove off, leaving Manx injured in the carpark.  
  
"Beast...."  
  
-END OF CODE04- 


	5. Claws of the Past

WARNING for violence and bloodshed.  
  
// // means reading material's contents ( ) means quick flashbacks ~ ~ means thoughts  
  
+CODE 05: CLAWS OF PAST+  
  
You may feel everything bad has been destined in your life. But never do you expect; the more you go through, the more your mindset in life matures, bringing your perspective to greater heights.  
  
Hidaka, I was hoping you could guide the whole team into the international soccer competition. How could you consume forbidden drugs during the match?  
  
No, I didn't, coach! I am innocent!!!  
  
From now on, Hidaka Ken, you will be disqualified from all sports due to intrusion of Rule IX for taking forbidden drugs during competition.....  
  
NONONONOONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  
  
"ARGGGGGG~~!!!"  
  
"RINGGGGGGGGG!"  
  
It was another bright morning. Ken sat up on bed, panting while the memory of his nightmare continued to haunt his mind.  
  
No, not a nightmare.  
  
It was his past. His unforgettable past.  
  
Although Kase--- his childhood friend whom had caused his disqualification from professional soccer team was killed with his own hands, his nightmares still continued to haunt him almost every night.  
  
"Ohaiyo, Ken-kun!" Omi's cheerful voice greeted him as he pulled himself out of the room to wash up: "Hurry up for breakfast! Aya-chan has just prepared it!"  
  
"You're the last to get up, Ken!" Yoji's lazy voice sighed: "We're not waiting for you to open the shop."  
  
~ + + + KEN'S POV + + + ~  
  
My name is Hidaka Ken, 19 years old. Three years ago, I was one of the outstanding professional soccer players for our country. Unfortunately, because of my childhood friend-Kase's act, I was tricked into consuming forbidden drugs during a match, resulting to my banishment from the professional soccer world. During my attempt to clear my name, Kase and I were beaten up and I was almost burnt to death in an abandoned warehouse.  
  
Someone came to my aid.  
  
Amidst the smoke and darkness, a red hair lady extended her hand to me.  
  
"Join WeiB, Hidaka Ken. Join us to eliminate the wrongdoers from this corrupted city. Your weapon will be claws and your old identity as a banished soccer player will be declared dead in our police record."  
  
Later, I know who she was. Manx. A police investigator who was working under Persia until his death.  
  
My life almost ends once. And now, I am alive again with a new aim. To change the evildoers' tomorrows.  
  
My parents have passed away from illness five years ago, so this change will not pose much problem to me. My new family will be the other members of WeiB. And now there is a new comer-Fujimaya Aya, Ran's younger sister.  
  
"Oniichan!!!" Aya skipped and grabbed Ran by his arm, swinging it slightly and started asked in a cutely way: "There's going to be a funfair across the lane tomorrow night. Can we go together, can we?"  
  
"I am not in mood, Aya. Go yourself." Ran said, still absorbed deep in his thought. He was still acting cold despite his sister's recovery from his coma and death of his parents' murderer---Takatori Reiji. I wonder what's bugging him this time.  
  
"But, Onnichan, you used to bring me to the funfair when Papa and Mama..."  
  
"Enough!" Ran roared furiously, startling Omi and Yoji in their meals.  
  
Tears started to well up in Aya's large violet eyes.  
  
"Aya-chan, Ran-kun is probably still worrying about some important matters," Omi immediately jumped off his seat and pulled Aya's hand: "We'll go together. I need to buy something along the way anyway." Omi secretly glanced at Ran in concern, knowing why Ran was throwing his temper.  
  
"Really? Arigato, Omi-kun!" Happiness immediately filled in Aya's child- like face.  
  
Omi. He is always a darling, an angel sent down to wash away our distress despite his dark family background as the son of the notorious Takatori Reiji and murderer of his own brothers.  
  
"Aww, Omi, you are acting just like a baby-sitter!" Yoji-the playboy scowled comically.  
  
"Ne, I'm just accompanying her conveniently!" Omi quickly replied.  
  
"I like you, Omi-kun!" Aya beamed happily and gave the blue-eyed blond a quick hug. Instantly, a red hue spread over the boy's face.  
  
I laughed heartedly.  
  
At the other side of the table, Yoji was flipping the newspaper.  
  
"Whoa! Another professional sports player was found dead in his apartment with his wrist cut before a national match. He is the key player for the team's success! What's wrong with sports players these days? Nah, Ken, is that what you call competition stress?"  
  
I felt my face darkened.  
  
"I finish my meal," I said dully and pushed my plates aside.  
  
~ + + + NORMAL MODE + + + ~  
  
Later that night...  
  
"A mission from Persia, guys!" Burman said. Unlike usual times, Manx did not turn up.  
  
"What's wrong with Manx today?" Yoji asked. He never failed to ignore the red hair beauty's presence.  
  
"She's engaged to an important case. Therefore, for this time, I'll solely take over the explanation and delegation job." Burman responded and turned off the light.  
  
Persia's dark image popped up on the television screen.  
  
"Good evening, WeiB. A two-men group has been running illegal betting business using professional sports matches. To please some important clients, they lured insiders to eliminate important players through false accusations or suicide-like murders so that their target teams would win. The masterminds are as follows.."  
  
Instantly, pictures of the two men were shown on the screen. One was extremely thin with deep hollow eyes as if he had not eaten for days while other was plump with wicked looking eyes.  
  
"My white assassinators, help these villains rewrite their tomorrows."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
Ken's eyes widened and his knuckles clenched so hard that they turned white. Omi secretly looked at him with concerned eyes.  
  
The room lit up.  
  
"This group used to operate under Takatori Hirofumi to gain connections with important politicians and businessmen for Takatori Reiji. 1 years before Takatori Reiji's fall, they went to other country and were only back 2 months ago." Burman said, holding out an envelope: "The full details are here. Is everyone participating?"  
  
Ran took the envelope from her.  
  
"I'll take it as a yes." Burman smiled.  
  
Ken was still shivering uncontrollably.  
  
Omi touched Ken's shoulder slight: "Ken-kun, are you alright?"  
  
"I.. I'm ok," Ken said, still shaking.  
  
~ + + + OMI'S POV + + + ~  
  
I am worried for Ken-kun. He does not seem to be in his right self today. Is that something to do with today's mission? I know he used to be a professional soccer player. I wonder if this crime has anything to do with his past.  
  
Nevertheless, I immediately go to my computer after the briefing.  
  
The masterminds are nicknamed 'Skeleton' and 'Boss'. Their nicknames do suit their outstanding appearance. 'Boss' is in charge of getting in touch with clients and game manipulation planning while 'Skeleton' coordinates with insiders through bribes.  
  
They are cunning, very cunning people. They do not allow other people to know about their presence, except their clients. Even insiders who help them to remove professional players do not exactly know their activities are organised. All they know is that they can get money and fame through these two people's alliance with big companies.  
  
I guess Takatori clan's fall has weakened their power to hide in the shadows.  
  
The headquarter is situated in a skyscraper of Shinjuku. A very obvious spot for illegal activities. But who knows? The most dangerous place can be the safest.  
  
Tonight, we will be spilt into two groups to look for the two masterminds.  
  
"Omi," Ken-kun's voice suddenly appeared behind me, making me jump.  
  
I turned to look at him: "Ken-kun! You almost startle me!"  
  
Ken-kun's voice was serious: "Can I pair up with you?"  
  
I stared at him for a short while: "Hai!"  
  
Our mission will start at 11pm.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
The hospital ward was dimly lit with a table lamp. A dark slim figure made her way to the red hair patient who was sitting on her bed.  
  
"The boys have gone for their mission, Manx." The face of the figure revealed under the light as Burman. Manx made a soft 'eh' sound and continued to stare at her hands. Very concerned, Burman reached over and touched her friend/colleague's hand: "Daijoubu, Manx? It's not like you to be so quiet."  
  
"Takatori Masafumi is still alive. Do not let the boys know about this." Manx's voice was low and defeated.  
  
"But how long can we keep this?"  
  
"I don't know. We'll wait and observe." Manx whispered in exhaustion, betraying a slight hint of sadness in her voice. She had been confident of keeping situations in control, but with the enemies penetrating by their doorstep, she was beginning to doubt her capability and her endurance.  
  
A hand petted her shoulder.  
  
"Don't give up hope, Manx. Everything will be all right. Be brave!"  
  
"Arigato, Burman. I can't imagine how I can deal with this situation without you."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
The mini-city of Shinjuku, with its skyscrapers, department stores and red- light district was buzzling with 'night owls' looking for night excitements. Penniless roamers who were too poor to afford a lodging in the high-cost city were out shivering in cold on roadsides and in dark alleys, long forgotten by passingbys.  
  
Before a skyscraper of Nishi-Shinjuku, two tall figures moved swiftly at lightning speed past the unsuspected guards from a dark corner into a sewage hole that led into the interior of the building.  
  
In a dark office, a plump man nicknamed 'Boss' was snickering, his bewildered eyes gleaming with lust as he counted his money as usual at his desk alone.  
  
Amidst the dark behind him, two figures loomed.  
  
"You've been counting money all the time. Have you ever calculate the number of bad deeds you've done before your death? I bet it's countless." A low cold voice said.  
  
"Who's that?!" 'Boss' gasped in shock and tried to press the alarm button under his desktop.  
  
"WeiB-the white assassinators!"  
  
Before the fingers could touch the button, a wire curled round his wrist and pulled back. A slash of katana sent his head off his body, staining the white wall red instantly.  
  
Yoji pulled his sunglasses down slight, blinked an eye and smiled: "One down. The rest is up to the two kids." Ran gave a slight nod.  
  
They did not notice a pair of bright eyes watching them behind a pillar when they walked out of the room.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Ken and Omi ran and ducked behind the wall as two security guards walked by, chatting between themselves gleefully.  
  
Ken looked at Omi and moved his eyes at the guards, hinting: 'Shall we strike and disguise?' Omi shook his head and moved out quickly the moment the guards were out of sight. Ken sighed and followed the blond. It would be so much easier to kill a person under a disguise than scampering around like night mice.  
  
A door with the plate 'Information Room' caught Ken's attention. He tugged Omi's jacket and moved to open the door. It was password protected. He swung his claws, torn down the lock and sneaked into it.  
  
Omi frowned in protest. He followed.  
  
"Ken-kun! There's no time for trivial matters!" Omi whispered.  
  
"Chotto, I need to clarify something." Ken whispered back. He had sensed something amiss when he saw Skeleton's face on the television screen, feeling he had seen that person somewhere.  
  
"Ken-kun~!" The blue-eyed boy protested.  
  
"Shhhhhhhh.." Ken hissed.  
  
The room was large, but its space was cramped and littered with shelves of documents. There was a computer in the corner of the room on a desk. Instantly, Ken moved to operate the computer.  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi's tone was harsh and impatient. This time, Ken chose to ignore the boy and started to hunt through the database.  
  
He went to the search box and keyed 'Hidaka Ken'. No record was found.  
  
Then he tried 'Kase'.  
  
Instantly, paragraphs of words ran down the screen. The file was recorded three years ago.  
  
// 7th August. 'Boss' wants me to get 'Blue Victory' out of the picture. I need an insider and found Kase. He seems to be dissatisfied with a team member for a long time. It's a good opportunity to strike down the team...//  
  
Ken's eyes widened. Omi moved behind Ken and noticed it. His lips moved, but suddenly swerved behind and flew a dart at the figure who moved swiftly just in time to avoid it.  
  
It was their mission target-'Skeleton'.  
  
Omi's eyes widened in shock. Not many people could avoid his darts like that.  
  
"Heh, heh, heh.. What are you doing here, kids?" 'Skeleton' tittered in a high-pitched voice.  
  
"WeiB-the white assassinators. We're here to send you to Hell!" Omi snarled and flashed four more darts from his gloved hand.  
  
"Too bad, you probably do not know I used to excel in military fighting techniques before I came into this business."  
  
Omi tried to calm himself. He knew he had to be fast and deadly to get this target out of the world.  
  
~Hayaku, Ken-kun. I might not be able to handle this man!~ Omi stole a worried glance back to the stone-still figure known as Hidaka Ken while flying his darts at his fast moving target.  
  
//...get the team 'Blue Victory out of the picture....//  
  
("Hurry up for our next match, Hidaka! Our 'Blue Victory' must win!")  
  
//.... need an insider and found Kase. He seems to be dissatisfied with a team member for a long time....//  
  
(Ken wiped his sweat after a competition practice and headed to the rest room. Along the way, he caught sight of Kase talking and smiling to a thin figure. The person's face was suddenly focused to show 'Skeleton.)  
  
"Enough of hide-and-seek, it's now my payback time!" Skeleton snickered and shone a long knife. His thin figure moved like a haze towards his young opponent.  
  
Pain shot through his arms. Omi winced inwardly in pain. Blood oozed out of a deep cut on his shoulder.  
  
"Like what you've seen? It's just a beginning, little boy." Skeleton's form reappeared behind Omi, licking his newly blood stained knife.  
  
"Bastard, how many sportsmen's dream have you scattered?!" Omi spitted and pulled out his crossbow.  
  
//....Kase has done well. He manages to disqualify the goal keeper with a forbidden drug I've given him...//  
  
("Ganbattee, Ken, have a drink!" Kase offered a bottle to him. The ball slipped past Ken's reach into the goal net as his eyes failed to focus on it. Investigators' gaze became cold after the result of his urine test was out. There was drug content in his body. On the same day, he was banished from the sports.)  
  
The past. Like a rewinding video tape started to come back in flashbacks in Ken's mind eyes. His fists clenched and unclenched themselves.  
  
Ken gritted his teeth. So, these two people were behind all these. They made use of Kase's grudge on him to achieve Takatori Reiji's aim by pleasing Yasiya Building Corporation that helped to eliminate Takatori Reiji's rivals before the day of politic election.  
  
//....Just a little convincing and Kase carries out his work. As promised, I got him into Yasiya Building Corporation--- one of our clients and it even assisted us to get rid of the banished goal keeper in a warehouse fire when he tried to get into the investigation work on the case.... //  
  
{Kase screamed as he was dragged out by three men whom Ken later knew to be under Yasiya Building Corporation. Ken laid on the ground in pain as the place was covered with smoke and fire...)  
  
Omi's fearful scream woke Ken from his daze of past.  
  
The boy was clutching his bleeding left leg and gritted his teeth hard, causing some grinding sound.  
  
Hovering above Omi was 'Skeleton'. He cleaned his knife like a cat.  
  
"Time to say 'tata', pretty boy." 'Skeleton' drove the knife at the dizzy boy's chest.  
  
A clawed hand entangled the weapon.  
  
"Why did you choose Kase to do your dirty work?" Ken's glare, like his tone, was frightening cold.  
  
Another claw drove down and paused a centimeter before Skeleton's nose.  
  
"Keh, keh." Skeleton swallowed hard and laughed nervously: "He's got the lust for powers, he wants to be on the top, the best in everything. That's normally the kind of person we choose.. errrr. your hand.." His eyes, like widened in enormous size was staring at the claws like a hawk.  
  
"You.you're Hidaka Ken, the banished goal keeper, right? We did not ask him to target you, we...."  
  
"ENOUGH! THAT'S ENOUGH! Because of you people, he gets a reason to betray the team to achieve his aim!!" Ken screamed hysterically and drove his claw straight into Skeleton's head, sending blood and brain bits scattered onto the wall.  
  
"KEN-KUN!!!" There was fear and shock in Omi's shrieks: "STOP!! STOP IT!!!!!"  
  
Ken could no longer see the bloody corpse and the frightened boy before him. All he could see was two young boys playing soccer on a field, laughing and shouting.  
  
"Hey, Kase! I'm going to be a soccer player when I grow up. How about you?"  
  
"Me too! And we'll be the best comrades in competitions!!"  
  
"A promise!"  
  
LIAR!! LIAR!! LIAR!!  
  
Immediately, Kase's greed-filled face shining with excitement replaced the joyful scene as he pointed his gun at Ken.  
  
"I hate you, Ken! Why must you always be the best when I'm only a third- class player in the game?!! Why can't you just vanish from this world for me to thrive with wealth and power?!!"  
  
Kase! Have you forgotten our childhood promise?  
  
Yes, that must be it. Skeleton must have influenced Kase into betrayal, to lure him into obsession with wealth and fame and poison his pure personality.  
  
I HATE, I HATE!!!! I HATEHATEHATEHATEHATE  
  
"KEN-KUN! THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!!" A hand forcefully encircled Ken's body and pulled him from behind. Kase's face instantly vanished, replaced by a badly slashed 'Skeleton' and a tearful Omi.  
  
"It's over, Ken-kun. Everything is over. Let the past rest." Omi whispered softly, gripping tight from behind, his face on Ken's back.  
  
Tears steamed down Ken's face: "Doshitte, why must everything happen like this? I would have become a successful professional soccer player with Kase instead of an assassinator now!"  
  
Omi looked at his friend sympathetically and let off his uninjured arm.  
  
"Why, why must this happen to me?" Ken tearfully turned to face his younger member and stared down his bloodstained claws. His enemy's blood dotted all over his face and mission coat.  
  
More tears flowed. Ken collapsed onto the ground. His body shivered hard with grief and lost.  
  
"Ken, look into my eyes." There was soft tenderness in Omi's voice. Instead of the usual 'Ken-kun', he simply called 'Ken', hoping to arouse the older man's attention.  
  
"Doshittee?" Ken looked up into the sympathetic blue eyes above him. His expression reminded Omi of a confused and lost child instead of the quick- tempered ex-soccer player.  
  
Omi moved forward and kneeled down before Ken. Sobbingly, Ken let himself fall forward and buried his face into Omi's chest to cry, to let out his resentment of his fate.  
  
In the dark, bloodstained room, the sobbing of the ex-soccer player echoed in the air.  
  
In the midst of the sea of memories....  
  
The cheers of the audiences' rose and fall, fall and rose as the atmosphere of the game came to a greater height.  
  
"GREAT CATCH!! Another excellent catch from the goal keeper of 'Blue Victory'-Hidaka Ken!!!"  
  
The cheers became louder and louder..  
  
But gone.. This dream would never be realised anymore.. Never ever....  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Light steamed into the room as the door cracked open. A fluttering sound faltered. A feather spiraled down onto a piece of newly placed card on the study table.  
  
The red hair leader of WeiB reached over and picked up the card.  
  
A row of words was written neatly on it.  
  
His eyes narrowed.  
  
The card wrote: //Manx knows something you do not know. She is now hospitalized in Central Hospital.//  
  
-END OF CODE 05-  
  
AUTHOR'S WORDS:  
  
Yeah!!!! 4 reviews for chap 4! Thank you so much! Don't worry, this fic's continuing, but I really need reviews to keep me going!  
  
I've got a bad feeling there'll be lesser reviews for this one coz it's more of Ken's past with lots of repeats in anime series, except some elaborations here and there coz I think it's better to get his past more connected to Takatori Reiji. Not much spicy stuff in this chap...groan... but hey, I do love Ken/Omi scenes. I will let their emotions build up slowly to make them sound more convincing. There'll be gentle healthy (healthy for yaoi?) yaoi between Omi and Ken as the story progresses. There'll be slight Schudig/Omi and OOC (Takashi Rei)/Omi too (later). I also like Ran/Omi and Yoji/Omi. But Ran/Omi & Yoji/Omi's not going to be out here, maybe in other separate fic. I'll consider lemon since this fic's not going to have any lemon/lime scenes (can easily bored u guys off)..sigh.. Still.. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! (WAIL OUT LOUD) I NEED supports!!!! 


	6. Quiet Moment b4 Storm

PROJECT ANGEL: REVIVAL  
  
DISCLAIMER: No, I DO NOT own Weiss Kreuz and any of its characters so don't sue me because I don't have any extra money for that. Any similar of content to any events is due to pure coincidence and nothing discriminative or infringing copyrights.  
  
THEME SONG: 'True Light' by Miyamoto Shunichi-The Opening theme of 'D.N.Angel'  
  
CODE06: QUIET MOMENT BEFORE STORM  
  
// // means telepathy thoughts  
  
( ) means quick flashbacks  
  
~ ~ means thoughts  
  
Blood smeared his clawed glove. Like a slow motion movie, it trickled through the gaps between his fingers.  
  
"Ken-kun, doshite...." A weak familiar voice whispered.  
  
The seventeen-year-old blond teen put his hand on a badly bled wound on his shoulder. His badly slashed dark blue coat was heavily soaked in his own blood; his pale flesh was marred with clawed cuts. He did not seem to notice the sound of dripping blood at his feet. Subconsciously, his crossbow slipped down his other hand with a soft thump. Shining red under the translucence of its owner's blood, the center of the crossbow in an instant looked like a cross for its owner's tomb.  
  
One more slash, the last fatal slash.  
  
In front of him, a shocked expression stared up at him in disbelief before the sadness and despondence in the sky blue eyes vanished behind the closing eyelids as he collapsed onto the ground in his own pool of blood.  
  
He wanted to scream, scream in pain, scream to demand why his team mate, the first person he ever wanted to protect in his life was falling before him, covered with wounds created solely by he himself. Instead, a hysterical laughter, as though satisfied with his art work, exploded in the large dark almost empty hall..  
  
.....And the voice came from the only person--- Hidaka Ken.  
  
He himself.  
  
The unbearable laughter became louder and louder  
  
Ringggggggggggg......  
  
Ken jerked up quickly in bed. He touched his forehead and found himself almost bathing in his own sweat.  
  
A dream, it was a dream.  
  
Ever since the last mission facing the sports criminal-'Skeleton', he started to have this strange nightmare of he himself killing Omi with his own hands. The slaughtering of 'Skeleton' must have corroded his mind with the same killing method----on his closest teammate. This must be revenge from the ghost of 'Skeleton'.  
  
~No, this will not come true.. ~ Ken tried to console himself over and over again to get rid of the bad feeling still weighing deep inside him.  
  
~~~~~ + + + + ~~~~~  
  
Do not run from your problems for what you are actually avoiding is your true self.  
  
~~~~~ + + + + ~~~~~  
  
"Ohaiyo!!!" Omi greeted as he dashed into the class. His arms and knee still hurt from the previous mission. Fortunately, his wounds healed fast and by then, he could move without much difficulty except for bits of piercing pains here and there.  
  
"Ohaiyo, Tsukiyono-kun!!" One of his classmates greeted in return. Suddenly, an arm encircled Omi's neck, almost choking him: "Oi! Are you aware there'll be a new student coming to our class today?"  
  
"Hm? I was on medical leave lately so this is the first time I hear about this," Omi struggled free from his classmate's grip, forcing a polite smile as usual.  
  
"I heard it is a girl."  
  
"Nah, I thought it's a boy!" Other classmate interrupted. They started bickering between themselves.  
  
"What do you think, Tsukiyono kun?"  
  
"Whether it is a girl or boy do not matter, the main issue is we are having a new classmate and we should welcome him/she." Omi replied.  
  
"Aw, no fun!"  
  
"Good morning, class!" Their form teacher entered the class with a brown hair boy following behind, a short ponytail swaying behind his head.  
  
"Ne," A classmate whispered to his friend: "This guy's ponytail is gonna be in trouble in future."  
  
"Shhhh."  
  
"Please introduce yourself," The sensei turned to the boy.  
  
"Treufel. Nice to meet you." The new boy said monotonously as if reading from a book. His voice was slightly high-pitched like a girl and was cold like ice. His dark eyes were tense and alert as though he was standing in the middle of enemy soldiers and not in an educational institute. He had a well refined Asian features. One would have mistaken him for a girl.  
  
"Treufel? Is he a foreigner? He looks Japanese to me and his Japanese is perfect." Omi heard a student muttered behind him.  
  
~Treufel. It means 'Devil' in German. ~ Omi remembered. He had read this term somewhere in the Internet before.  
  
"Let us welcome our new student. Everyone must study in harmony together, do I make myself clear?" The sensei called, trying to make him heard over the murmurs among the students. Looking around, he pointed to an empty seat besides Omi: "Treufel kun, you'll be sitting besides Tsukiyono Omi. Tsukiyono kun."  
  
~ Who is he? ~  
  
"Tsukiyono kun?" The sensei repeated.  
  
~ Is he one of the members of SZ? I heard SZ originates from Germany... ~  
  
"Tsukiyono Omi?"  
  
"Oi, Tsukiyono kun! Sensei has been calling you a couple of times!" A student kicked Omi's seat from behind.  
  
Omi quickly snapped out of his thoughts: "Hai!"  
  
"Please raise your hand so that Treufel kun knows where to sit."  
  
"Hai!"  
  
It was lunchtime.  
  
Omi ran to meet Fujimaya Aya in the school compound. The plaint hair girl was already there.  
  
"Gomen, gomen, have you been waiting long?" Omi panted: "I was asked to carry Sensei's books back to his office."  
  
"You forgot to bring your lunch box this morning, Omi kun," Aya said and handed his forgotten item to him. She ticked Omi's forehead and teased: "Poor memory you have, Omi kun!"  
  
Omi scratched a hand behind his head in embarrassment and laughed sheepishly: "Arigato, Aya-chan, I forgot clean about it."  
  
"Hi, Tsukiyono kun! She's kawaii, is she your new girlfriend?" A group of students called to Omi from afar.  
  
"Non....nonsense!" A deep red blush spread across Omi's cheeks. The students only laughed and went off.  
  
"New girlfriend?" Aya echoed.  
  
"My classmates. Ignore their remarks." Omi whispered embarrassedly. Aya giggled.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
Manx made a final check on her belongings. Giving a last look of the ward, she made her way out of the hospital. She was to be discharged that day.  
  
A red hair man in turtleneck sweater was waiting outside the main gate. Fujimaya Ran.  
  
"Ah, you are here?' Manx exclaimed calmly with a smile, not expressing any tinge of shock.  
  
"You know what's happening? Can you explain the content of this card?" Ran tossed a card to her.  
  
Manx caught the card, took a look of the card and tossed it back: " And you believe what it says? That isn't like you, Aya." Despite Ran's formal announcement of his real name, she could not get over changing the way she called him so she continued to call him 'Aya'.  
  
Ran examined her eyes, checking if she was lying.  
  
"If that's the case..." Ran said and turned to leave.  
  
Manx's reaction had already told him the seriousness of the secret even though she did not admit it. His strong analytical skills of human minds and his understanding of Manx did not go to waste throughout his assassination missions. He would investigate the matter personally.  
  
~ I hope you will understand my difficulty, Aya. ~ Manx thought.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
In the florist shop, some girls complained loudly in disappointment when they found only three of the florists boys tending the shop. Ran was not around. Aya had to stay back for tuition and would not be back in at least four hours' time.  
  
"Where has Ran gone to?" Ken grumbled (To avoid complication and confusion between Ran and Aya's names, he had learnt to call Ran by his original name, same for Omi and Yoji) while trying to balance two pots of plants in his arms.  
  
"I don't care where he goes, I'm going for my date now!" Yoji looked at the clock, pulled off his apron and zipped out of the shop before Omi or Ken could hold him back.  
  
"Danmit Yoji!! He can't dump all the stuff to us like this!!" Ken shook his fists angrily.  
  
"That's Yoji kun," Omi tried to appease Ken's anger with a quick smile: "I'm still around and we can manage the shop fine. No problem!" He winked an eye and showed a victory hand sign.  
  
Ken sighed and resumed back to where he had left. At a corner of an eye, Omi took a secret glance. Ken seemed to have forgotten the previous mission's incident and was back to his normal self.  
  
~ Let's hope he'll remain in this way, he has gone through so much.. ~ Omi sighed.  
  
// So what are you going to do about your situation, little angel? //  
  
Omi suddenly felt a chill ran through his spine and he swerved out of the main entrance looking around. The street was slightly bustling with afternoon window-shopping students and vehicles.  
  
// Don't bother looking around, you'll never find me...//  
  
"Oi, Omi!" Ken's voice interrupted Omi's thoughts: "I can't handle these two pots! Is there anything wrong?"  
  
// Catch you next time, my little blue-eyed angel, or .... should I address you.. Takatori Mamoru? //  
  
"Heh? No...nothing!"  
  
"What are you looking, Omi?"  
  
"I thought someone is spying on us, Ken kun."  
  
"You're imagining things, Omi."  
  
"H.hai, I think so."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"Mou... It's such a boring lesson! Why must we always stay back for tuition after school? I want to spend more time with my puppy!" Ayumi--- Aya's classmate groaned while on their way home.  
  
Along the walls of the shops, shadows of three girls dragged lazily under the evening sun.  
  
"Playing with puppy?" Aya echoed: "How dull." Her face suddenly brightened up: "There's a fair tonight and Omi kun's accompanying me tonight. Want to join us?"  
  
"A fair?" Ayumi's eyes widened in excitement, but soon dulled: "Forget it, I will not be a light bulb between you and Tsukiyono senpai."  
  
"Omi kun is not my boyfriend!!" Aya blushed fiercely.  
  
"Oh yes he is, you are blushing!"  
  
"No!" "Yes!" "No, he isn't!" "Oh, yes he is!"  
  
Kasumi-the other classmate had been quiet. She suddenly spoke: "Ne, Ayumi," She pushed her spectacle up: "You should spend more time reading. A friend of mine has introduced me a link to one excellent unpublished novel." She pulled out a stack of printed papers: "I've printed them from the Internet."  
  
"What is it about?" Aya asked curiously.  
  
"It's about four handsome assassinators killing the masterminds of a kidnapping crime from a night club named 'Zombie'. (Refer code03 and code04)"  
  
Thump!  
  
Aya's bag slipped from her hands.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"What's on your mind, Aya-chan?" Omi asked as he and Aya moved along the crowd in the fun fair. Throughout, Aya was unusually quiet and deep in thoughts.  
  
"Ne, Omi kun, did you guys went on a mission to a night club named 'Zombie'?"  
  
"Eh? Why do you ask me this out of the blue?"  
  
"I...."  
  
"Aya-chan, let's go catch guppies over that stall!" Omi suddenly pointed. Without waiting for Aya's approval, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards that direction.  
  
~ I used to go fun fair with Onni chan. Does he love me no more? ~ Aya thought sadly.  
  
"Aya!!" A familiar voice suddenly called from afar. A red haired man in a distance near the fish catching stall caught her attention. Her elder brother, her onni chan--- Fujimaya Ran.  
  
Aya's eyes widened in surprise: "Onni-chan?!" Without her notice, Omi silently moved aside so that the brother and sister could talk without concerning his presence.  
  
Ran reached out his strong hand and grabbed Aya's. Something slightly long and hard, but warmed by the palm of her elder brother was placed into hers. It was a pair of earring-the one she had asked for before her two-year coma and her parents' murders.  
  
"Happy belated 16 year old birthday, Aya," Ran whispered: "I haven't got the chance to give it to you since our reunion."  
  
"O.Onni chan!!!!" Ran suddenly felt Aya's arms round his waist as she buried her tearful face into his chest.  
  
"Arigato, Onni chan.."  
  
A few distance away, Omi smiled slightly at the sight of the embracing siblings.  
  
~ If only I can stay in harmony with my brothers. ~ A lonely feeling lingered within Omi.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
That night..  
  
"Guys, we've got a problem." Omi announced, pulling his computer screen so that the others could see in the basement headquarter. Aya had given him the website link during the fun fair.  
  
"What is it this time?" Yoji scratched his head in boredom. It was already midnight and he was not allowed to go to bed. How was he going to meet girls with dark rings under his eyes?  
  
"Someone has recorded our mission and turned it into online novel. Isn't this serious enough??!!!" Omi snarled frustratedly. This was unlike his character, but this case was different. Someone was stalking them. How this would affect their future missions and safety no one knows.  
  
"So what are we going to do now?" Ken asked.  
  
"Have you got the locations out?" Ran asked.  
  
"Alright, I've hacked into the server and have narrowed the scope to three locations. Mission is now."  
  
"Whatever you say, Chibi."  
  
"Don't call me Chibi, I've no mood for jokes." Omi warned.  
  
~ + + + YOJI'S POV + + + ~  
  
This is the first time out of our two-year assassination life that I ever see our Omi getting so pissed up. Nevertheless, we are briefed before we set off.  
  
Ken, Ran and I set off to the three respective areas to investigate while Omi secures all possible escape routes should our target be alerted.  
  
It is already 1:30 A.M. when my car reaches an apartment in Sinbuya.  
  
Omi has been troubled when I ask him how we are going to do with this target since he/she may have never done any harm to the innocents. Ran has suggested silencing them and Ken almost gets into a fight with him.  
  
Finally, Omi suggests bringing the person to Manx under the charge of maligning and hindering police works.  
  
We all agree.  
  
I am now standing at the foot of the spiral staircase outside the apartment building. Drops of rain starts to fall.  
  
"Yoji-kun, you in position?" Omi's voice transmits on my earphone.  
  
"Hai."  
  
"Sumimasen, Yoji-kun. I did not mean to shout at you earlier." The boy whispers apologetically.  
  
"No, it's alright."  
  
"Any abnormal situation?" Ran's voice interrupts.  
  
"I see a family of four and I've checked their computer. No sign of that novel." Ken reports.  
  
"Man, Omi, why three suspected locations?" I complain.  
  
"Because they are using the same IP address!" Omi explains.  
  
"How can this happen?" Ken asks.  
  
"Two of the target are probably using the third one's Internet a/c I guess," Omi replies.  
  
This is going to be the dullest and most stupid mission I ever have in all my life. All I need to do is to arrest that hacker.  
  
A piece of cake.  
  
I can feel a smirk drawn across my lips when I chew the tip of my cigarette.  
  
The light is still on. Now, now, how am I going to search for evidence when my suspect is still awake? Ken's location is down, leaving Ran's and mine. Omi is waiting for our responses now.  
  
Feh!  
  
I can still hear the tip-tapping of the keyboard as I approached the window frame. Faintly, I can register the back of a slender figure working furiously on her computer through the glass panel.  
  
Good, I love dealing with ladies, especially I do not have to kill.  
  
I pull up the frame and leap in.  
  
The vision becomes clearer.  
  
Suddenly, by instinct, my blood freezes. That back.. That green short hair.. that figure.. I touch my face. It is cold and almost covered with sweat. I know I have seen that figure many times in the past!  
  
"Hold it right there, who are you?" A cold black pistol appears pointing at me. The figure must have heard the noise I have caused and is now standing face-to-face with me. The mole on her face.. That eyes...  
  
Asuka!!!!  
  
No, this is impossible! Asuka is dead! Or is she Neu? No, it couldn't be! I remember strangling her alive with my own hands.  
  
A shot buzzes into the wall besides me, bringing my mind back to reality.  
  
The Asuka-look-alike person is standing before me, aiming her pistol on my forehead. With the familiar angry expression on her face...  
  
"HEY, MISTER!!!" She thunders: "Are you aware you are trespassing my place?" No cunning smirk, no sarcastic smile, just like the old Asuka I've known three years' ago.  
  
"Hey," The cold pistol is pressed tighter against my forehead: "Are you mute?"  
  
"As..As.Asuka.." My voice is shaking.  
  
Her expression freezes in shock: "How did you know my name? Have I met you before?"  
  
"Yoji-kun, what happen? Are you alright?" Omi's voice rings: "I heard a gun shoot at your side!"  
  
"There's no suspect on my side. We'll all go to Yoji's aid NOW!" Ran's voice responds.  
  
"Are you the author for a novel about the nightclub called 'Zombie'?" Somehow, I've regained part of my consciousness, but my voice is still shaky.  
  
"So what if I am? You're one of the four assassinators?" The green hair lady--- Asuka's face darkens dangerously: "Her fingers tightens around the trigger: "You know too much, once I've done with you, I can run away to other places where no one can find me."  
  
"Really?" I smile. Naïve girl. She does not know what I'm capable in. She pulls her trigger.  
  
No bullet comes.  
  
I tug one end of my translucent wire: "Too careless, lady." The other end of my wire entwines in my fingers.  
  
"Hm!" She smiles in defeat: "Alright, now what are you going to do to me?"  
  
"I ....." A sudden smash of the windows disrupts my sentence. I look at 'Asuka'. Her face is pale with fear.  
  
"They..they're here.." She shutters.  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"Ken! Omi! Get to Yoji's location! NOW!!!" Ran commanded.  
  
"Roger!" The younger two WeiB members responded in unison. At the sound of the first gun shoot, all members had started proceeding from all areas hoping to aid their endangered teammate at the fastest possible time.  
  
"Who are the attackers, Yoji?!" Ran called over the transmitter impatiently.  
  
"Youkai-mask men in black armed with guns and katana." Yoji panted heavily through his transmitter. Not too good. He was dangerously outnumbered with an almost defendless lady by his side: "Situation's out of control!"  
  
A loud thump crashed in their ears. Yoji must have dropped the transmitter for certain reasons.  
  
Ran was the first to reach the destination. The apartment was in a terrible mess. Nothing was left undamaged. Corpses covered with lines of blood and bullet holes littered the place. Yoji was no longer in the room.  
  
"Ran-kun, it's Yoji-kun's transmitter." Omi called as he half kneeled before a small damage equipment.  
  
"Is Yoji captured?" Ken asked.  
  
Omi opened his laptop: "I'll trace him."  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
The crescent moon scarred with dark holes hovered above the night city as a couple struggled into a deserted lane with several men hot on their heels after them.  
  
Yoji clenched his fingers on his shoulder. He was bleeding profusely. The lady named 'Asuka' was trying her best to support his heavy body with his arm over her shoulder.  
  
"Relax, you'll be alright." Asuka consoled breathlessly.  
  
"Heh! Just like last time." Yoji grinned sadly, still in pain, remembering how he witnessed Asuka and Maki's deaths: "How many times must this situation repeat itself?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Asuka frowned.  
  
"Listen, whatever happens, do not leave me, got it?" Yoji grinded his teeth.  
  
"Yeah, right, whatever. Anyway, I've nowhere to go... Hey! You OK?" Asuka grasped as Yoji's weight on her shoulder suddenly increased.  
  
"A little giddy, why are they after you?"  
  
"I don't know. These people have been trying to kill me since three weeks ago."  
  
Suddenly, a flash of light shone in their direction. Immediately, Yoji pressed Asuka onto the ground. Their lips met. The light missed them.  
  
SLAP! The lady flew her palm across Yoji's face.  
  
"You pervert!" Asuka snarled lowly and paused. Yoji's blood was flowing profusely and it stained her hands and clothes: "You...., I'll go and get help."  
  
She laid Yoji against the wall and prepared to go. A hand grabbed hers.  
  
"No, don't go! Asuka!" Yoji pleaded in fear. No, this was not going to happen again. He did not want to see her shot right before his eyes again.  
  
Never ever.  
  
"Let go! I'll be back!" Asuka whispered impatiently, trying to wiggle her hand out of his.  
  
"No, I won't! Asuka!!!!..." The entire city started to dance and darken before his eyes. Black ballooning spots swam around.  
  
No, I'm not going to let history repeat again! No, no, no!!!  
  
Everything went black.  
  
Asuka!  
  
~ + + + + + + ~  
  
"ASUKA!!!!" Yoji bolted up in his car. His wounds were already well bandaged.  
  
"Mah, mah, you are safe now," Ken's voice appeared on his opposite seat: "The others will be coming shortly."  
  
"Where's Asuka?!!" Yoji grabbed Ken by his shoulders and shook him violently.  
  
"I'm still here," An irritated voice called outside the car: "Your friend came just in time and has got us out of the pursuers' reach."  
  
"Asuka..., you.you are still alive.." Yoji choked.  
  
"Fine, fine. First, my house is attacked by some funny masked men and I've to go on a run again. Now, a crazy stranger gets so work up with whatever hell happens to me!" Asuka grumbled.  
  
"Hey, lady, are you going to get onto the car?" Ken barked gruffly.  
  
"How would I know if you guys are on the same side as the attackers or whether there's any bombs under the car?"  
  
"Then why don't you escape?"  
  
"I.. I.. I've the right to stand here, don't I?"  
  
"It's going to be a long night." Ken sighed.  
  
~~ + + + + + + ~~  
  
Omi and Ran were caught up with the masked group and were busily stalling them so that Ken could get the unconscious Yoji and the frightened 'Asuka' out of the place.  
  
The group was soon defeated by the two professional assassinators and started to run in separate ways.  
  
Fearing they would attack Ken and Yoji, Ran gave chase.  
  
Omi followed.  
  
Suddenly, something big and heavy fell before him, blocking his path.  
  
Something flew towards Omi's shoulder and he ducked just in time to dodge the attack.  
  
A figure leaped before Omi, blocking his path. Brown hair, dark eyes... Teufel! His Japanese sai shone under the dimly lit street lamps.  
  
"Teufel...kun...." Omi's blue eyes widened in astonishment.  
  
Teufel smiled: "You know, you look so much cuter like this. I wish I can kiss you."  
  
"Hey, what do you mean like this? Is this some shonen-ai remarks you picked up from the Internet?" Omi snapped angrily.  
  
Suddenly, something feathery flew across the sky. It was a hawk.  
  
"Oosps, got to go, Tsukiyono-kun," Treufel looked up into the sky: "Let me give you a piece of wise advice."  
  
He leaped high and swift onto the staircases of a nearby building to the rooftop and ran after his hawk.  
  
"....The men are mine and it's no good fighting against me. So do not interfere in my affairs.."  
  
Under the crescent moon, Omi stood, staring after where Treufel had left for a long, long time.  
  
TO BE CONTINUE... TO CODE07  
  
~~~~AUTHOR'S WORDS~~~~~~  
  
Sorry, people, another boring chapter! Too many people being focused here. First, Ken, then Omi, then Ran & Manx, after that Ken & Omi again, then Yoji and lastly Omi again. Hope you all won't feel too giddy here. I'm focusing many people at the same time, but my prime focus will still lie in Omi and Ken/Omi relationship. Got to get my wheels of innovation turning.  
  
I know my chap sucks but .....Please review!!!!  
  
To Riisha: Hee, hee, no lemon, just to accommodate ff.net's policy, sigh... I know it sucks, but I can't do anything about it ne? Also, yap, I have used the characters' names from anime-Botan or Boston (dunno which one) coz it deserves more elaborations since his daughter is missing and he died without fulfilling his dream. So Ran has to complete for him. I'm also a K/O fan, can see my implications of K/O in this chap? The plot's gonna deepen between the 2 as the story progresses so stay tune!  
  
To Sakusha : Arigato!!! I'll try my best. I know I need beta reader, but no time to look for help, sniff!  
  
To Kearoru: Yap, Masafumi's going to get revenge on Omi and then..need to crack my mind for developments, will Ken save Omi from Masafumi? Guess, guess. And that Rei guy and Treufel too, Ken's gonna meet a lot of competitors to fight for Omi. hentai me.  
  
To Kara Angita: Arigato! I believe Ken does have brains and is highly emotional; it's just that he gets work up too easily.  
  
To Kasra : Me too! I have seen some slightly shonen-ai manga and I enjoy the flow in them so I'm now trying out in my fanfic too! Mmmm, it's Botan I guess, I'm getting mixed up with that spelling already. Some sites spelt as 'Boston' and so I followed it, sigh! 


	7. The Living Dead

+AUTHOR'S WORDS+  
  
Sigh, only 2 reviews for my previous chaps, anyway, it's expected coz of my boring and many roles skip. Hopefully, this chap is not going to bore u guys like chap6. I enjoy doing suspense and slight violence scenes. I LOVE Ken/Omi, and I'm going to add a lot of complexities in this fic, (evil laugh).  
  
To Kasra : Arigato, I love sweet scenes as much as violent scenes, hope you aren't shock by this chap (slightly dark and bloody). I'm planning for more Ken x Omi scenes in next chap. ^_^  
  
To xXLil Yu JahXx: Hee hee, I'm still continuing. I can't say my fic's fantastic, coz there're many much better than mine. Honto ne arigato for reviewing!!!! ~_^  
  
CODE 07: +THE LIVING DEAD+  
  
Disclaimer: No, I DO NOT own Weiss Kreuz and any of its characters so don't sue me because I don't have any extra money for that. Any similar of content to any events is due to pure coincidence and has nothing to do with discriminative or infringing copyrights.  
  
RATING: PG-13 for Violence, blood scenes, slight yaoi and darkness  
  
PAIRING: Ken/Omi, Ken/Yuriko, Omi/Aya-chan  
  
Theme song: 'True Light' by Miyamoto Shunichi-The Opening theme of 'D.N.Angel'  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
A choke shriek faltered like a thunder roar in the stormy night outside the window.  
  
Blood smeared all over the four walls in a wild exotic dance pattern as if it was eager to report the world what had happened in the house earlier. Furniture lay scattered and overturned carelessly in the huge living room after a fierce struggle between life and death from its occupiers. Behind an overturned sofa, a small hand, still gripping tight onto its broken doll, lay stretched in a pool of blood. Nearby, a couple's corpses lay cold and wide-eyed into the empty ceiling. A portrait of a happy family of three hung tilted on the wall was a great insult to the event that had just happened a few moments ago.  
  
Casting onto the blood stained wall, a well-built shadow pulled itself up. Giggling in a cry-like manner, it encircled a wire round its neck.  
  
A tight tug.  
  
More blood spattered onto the wall.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
What lies in the root of humanity?  
  
Good? Evil? No one knows.  
  
Perhaps, in the beginning, human beings are doomed to confusion...  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Inside the basement of the flower shop..  
  
"Now, now, Miss 'Asuka'," Ken growled sarcastically as he slammed the print outs of the novel onto the table loudly onto the table before the green hair lady known as Asuka-who had the same name and appearance of Kudo Yoji's former deceased detective colleague and lover: "Can you 'kindly' explain what is going on and what 'inspire' you to carry out this work?"  
  
Asuka tossed her wary eyes around the four young men and two ladies in smart attires surrounding her in the room. As usual, Aya-chan was not allowed into the room again.  
  
"Hey," Asuka gave a snort: "Are you threatening me or are you going to silence me?"  
  
"Which group and organisation are you related to? Eszett, Schreient or Schwartz?" Ran asked coldly.  
  
"No one! I belong to me---A-Su-Ka!!!"  
  
"Then why are you investigating our mission?" Omi asked.  
  
"I've always dream of becoming a thrill novel author and you guys' topic is too good to be missed!" Asuka shrugged.  
  
"Where are your family members? Do you have any siblings?" The unusually quiet Yoji suddenly asked.  
  
"Why should I tell you? Hey..." Asuka's face neared Yoji's slyly: "Are you interested in me?"  
  
A deep scarlet spread across Yoji's face: "BAKA!!! What makes you think of that?!"  
  
'Wow,' Ken wondered: 'Am I seeing things? Yoji ACTUALLY blushes!!' Omi's blue eyes also widened in surprise at the unusual blushing scene from playboy, Yoji.  
  
"We are investigation officers here. If we find you spreading our details around or poke into our matters again, we will not hesitate to take actions against you. Do you understand?" Manx said coldly.  
  
"I know." Asuka snorted without looking at Manx. She got up and turned to go.  
  
"Wait a minute!" Birman suddenly called and ran to touch her back: "You forgot your purse."  
  
"Thanks." Asuka said coldly and left.  
  
"Can we trust her?" Ken asked.  
  
"Don't worry, Birman has already put a tracking device between the leather within her purse." Omi smiled.  
  
"Clever boy." Birman teased: "There's no identity card in her purse. So a bit of following is needed to know her background now."  
  
"I'll track her," Yoji suddenly volunteered. No one disagreed. Omi handed him a small laptop to trace her and he ran off like a wind.  
  
Ran and Ken sweat-dropped.  
  
"Let's go back, I've a lot of things to rush." Manx said and walked off.  
  
"Manx's unusually cold and Yoji's weird today." Ken observed.  
  
"I think I should go buy lottery or horse race later today," Omi said: "The numbers will be based on today's date or Manx and Yoji-kun's birthdays."  
  
"You are underage, Omi." Ran said.  
  
"Just kidding." Omi struck out a tongue playfully.  
  
"Bye, everyone!" Birman waved before running after Manx.  
  
"Ne, Omi," Ken asked as he and the youngest Weiss member walked back to their rooms to change out of their assassin clothes: "What's on your mind?"  
  
"Remember Neu's case? Do you think it's another plot?" Omi's eyebrows narrowed and put a hand to his chin in thought: "I have a bad feeling about the entire matter."  
  
'Yes and him...' Treufel's faltering figure in the night before appeared in Omi's mind eyes.  
  
"You are thinking too much, Omi," Ken laughed lightly and put his hand to Omi's shoulder.  
  
//His clawed hands drove into the blue-eyed teen's chest......//  
  
Ken gasped: "O..Omi...."  
  
Omi raised his eyes: "Nani, Ken-kun?"  
  
Ken forced a smile: "N..nothing..."  
  
"You are sweating, Ken-kun, and stammering." Omi said in concern: "Is there anything wrong?"  
  
//In front of him, a shocked expression stared up at him in disbelief before the sadness and despondence in the sky blue eyes vanished behind the closing eyelids.. //  
  
Ken's eyes stared silently in shock. That vision again!  
  
"Ken-kun!!" Omi cried out: "What's the matter?"  
  
No, not that vision again!  
  
//The seventeen-year-old teen collapsed onto the ground in his own pool of blood... Blood smeared his clawed glove. Like a slow motion movie, it trickled through the gaps between his fingers.//  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi's cry woke him up from his daze: "You are hurting me!!!"  
  
Ken hastily released his hold from Omi's shoulder: "Gomen, honto ni Gomen ne sai, Omi!"  
  
"What's wrong with everyone today?" Omi said sadly: "First, Asuka's 'revival', then Yoji-kun's silence, Manx's coldness and now you."  
  
'No, Omi, I'm scared, I'm afraid I will hurt you, I want to protect you so much, I....' Ken thought. Aloud, he shuttered: "I..."  
  
"I understand, you are worried for Yoji-kun and Manx, ne?" Omi gave a quick smile.  
  
No, no, that's not it, Omi... I'm afraid one day I may take away your life with my very hands... I want to see your smile, hear your cheerful laughter and your happy eyes... I only want to see you safe and sound... I....  
  
Ken thought in shock: 'When did I ever have such thoughts for Omi?' He remembered that ever after the 'final' battle with Eszett and Schwartz, he started to have this strange feeling for his younger battle mate. This feeling was unlike that with Yoji and Ran... No, it feels much deeper and strange, yet familiar.. just like the time with...... Yuriko?  
  
"Ken-kun," Omi shook Ken's shoulder: "You okay?"  
  
Ken looked down to see Omi's worried looking eyes.  
  
"Ne, I'm fine." He lied: "I'm just....tired."  
  
"Have a good rest then," Omi smiled: "I got to prepare for school. Aya- chan's waiting for me."  
  
Ken put his hands onto his head and shook. What was wrong with him today?  
  
This would not happen, it would never come true.  
  
It was already past seven o'clock in the morning by the time he finished changing. He was the first to reach the shop. Unthinkingly, he stepped into the florist shop and pulled up the metal shutter to start another day of business.  
  
Sunlight steamed into the shop. Wait a minute; a pair of familiar feminine boots disrupted the horizontal light beneath the shutter.  
  
"That pair of boots?" Ken gasped and quickly pulled the shutter all the way up. It was far too familiar.  
  
"Ken!" A feminine voice called. A long blond hair young lady of late teens with green eyes greeted him.  
  
Yuriko!  
  
"Yuri..Yuriko!" Ken's eyes widened in disbelief.  
  
"Ken!" Yuriko burst into tears and swung her arms round Ken's shoulder, burying her face into his chest.  
  
"Yuriko...." Ken echoed. That face, that feeling.... He felt his voice shaky. He thought he would never see her again-especially when he saw her boarding the flight to Australia.  
  
"We're going to school..." Omi's voice rang, interrupting Ken's thought. Abruptly, Ken broke the embrace to see Omi staring at them with wide blue eyes. Behind him, Aya-chan followed closely.  
  
For a second, Ken was struck stunned and was staring at Omi without saying a word.  
  
He quickly recollected himself: "Eh..., Omi, that..." Ken stammered, feeling a strange surge of guilt within him.  
  
A mischievous grin played on the blond boy's lips: "Ah ha! Ken-kun's girlfriend, right?" Turning to Yuriko, he extended his hand: "Hi! I'm Tsukiyono Omi, Ken-kun's friend! How do you do?"  
  
A strange disappointment dawned within Ken.  
  
"Wow! Ken's girlfriend? How long have you been dating?" Aya exclaimed excitedly: "Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Fujimaya Aya!"  
  
Yuriko smiled and shook hands with the two excited teens: "My name's Yuriko. Nice to meet you both!"  
  
"How long have you been dating?" Aya asked again.  
  
"Aya!" Ran's stern voice warned behind.  
  
Aya struck out her tongue: "Onnichan's here, got to go to school, Omi-kun!" Without waiting for Omi's response, she ran off.  
  
Omi waved to Ran, Ken and Yuriko: "I won't be interrupting, we're off!" He darted down the path after the plaint hair girl.  
  
"How did you find your way here, Yuriko?" Ken asked.  
  
"I recalled you telling me about you working in a florist shop and I've searched all the shops in the area where we first and last met." Yuriko whispered.  
  
"Ken, you take time off. I can manage the shop alone." Ran suddenly said.  
  
Ken stared.  
  
"Go ahead. It is non-peak period now." Ran repeated.  
  
Dumbly, Ken nodded and went bike riding with Yuriko.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Ken embraced Yuriko in his arms.....  
  
Omi slapped his own face. What's wrong with him today? Why was he so concerned about whom Ken was embracing?  
  
~No idle time for all these trivial matters, Ken-kun has his rights to date a girl, ne? I'm going to be late for lessons.~ Omi shook the thoughts away and made his way along the school corridor.  
  
His head bumped into someone.  
  
"Gomen ne, Gomen ne sai!!" Omi hastily apologised and looked to see the face of Treufel before him.  
  
//The lips of Treufel curved into a strange smile as he vanished into the night with his hawk appeared in Omi's mind...//  
  
"We need to talk, Omi-kun." Treufel said slyly. Without waiting for Omi's reply, he pulled Omi away.  
  
"Hey, where are you taking me?" Omi protested and struggled, trying to wriggle out of his hold, but in vain.  
  
"We need to talk.. in privacy." Treufel smiled in secrecy. He dragged Omi to a deserted room and pinned the blond blue-eyed teen to the wall. His face neared Omi's, almost touching the other boy's nose tip.  
  
"Listen, Omi-kun," Omi could feel Treufel's warm breath on his face: "Don't ever breath anything that happened last night or my identity to anyone, okay? In turn, I'll keep your little secret from everyone in school, promise?"  
  
"Why did you do that? Who are you?" Omi glared.  
  
"Omi-kun," Treufel whispered slowly against Omi's ears: "You do not need to learn so much. Knowing less is a blessing, don't you ever learn this yet?" He released his hold on Omi and walked off, leaving the other teen alone in the room.  
  
Omi hit the ground with his fist: "Danmit!"  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Yoji sat in his car, biting a cigarette between his teeth. Within three hours, he had already smoked two packs of cigarette. No much luck today. Asuka was apparently not concerned of solving her problem in a short time. Nearby, she was doing window-shopping outside a showcase of a fashion shop.  
  
// "Look, isn't this cap cute? Can you buy for me?" Asuka asked when she and Yoji stood outside the usual fashion shop showcase.//  
  
"Asuka, are you the same Asuka I used to know?" Yoji whispered to himself.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
"A mission, guys." Birman said as she and Manx entered the florist shop.  
  
"Ah, three out of four. Yoji's not back from his tracking?" Manx seemed to have recovered from her depression.  
  
"It's alright. We can still manage without him for time being." Ran said.  
  
Persia's image appeared on the screen.  
  
"Good evening, WeiB. Cold blooded massacre on families of important businessmen and politicians have been carried out over the past few months."  
  
The scene of corpses littering carpet floors of different houses - including both elderly and young children murdered in various brutal manners flashed on the screen. Some had been forcefully pressed into pails of water, and many were dismembered obviously without the use of any tools.  
  
"The common point is, at the scene of the murders, the culprits are found dead from committing suicide. The same drug was uncovered from these culprits' corpses. It is believed that the drug increases their strength at unbelievable level and at the same time, destroys their brain cells, luring them into committing these murders.  
  
Actions must be carried out to eliminate the mastermind who creates and distributes such drug in the public. My white assassinators, defy these villains of their tomorrows."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
Ken was the first to protest.  
  
"NOT AGAIN!!!" He growled: "What is this??? There's not a lead at all!! How are we going to trace our target like this??"  
  
"The common thing among the deceased murderers is that they are suffering from depressions of all kinds inflicted by the ones they have killed. You can choose not to accept," Manx said challengingly: "Well?"  
  
"We accept the challenge." Ran said.  
  
"Hey!" Ken protested.  
  
Omi shook his head. He had a very, very bad feeling. Just as he expected..  
  
"Omi, we're counting on you." Ken petted his back the moment Manx and Birman left the basement.  
  
"We'll go and rest now. Information search is Omi's job." Ran said.  
  
"Hey! Why me again?!" Omi whined: "The world's so unfair to me!!"  
  
"Good luck, Omi." Ken yawned and stretched himself. He was totally exhausted after playing tennis with Yuriko the entire afternoon. She was currently staying in a rented apartment and intended to stay in Tokyo for a few months. Before she left, she made him promise to meet her again two days later, which Ken smilingly agreed.  
  
"You all are bullies!" Omi shouted after Ran and Ken.  
  
"Don't worry, Omi-kun," Aya said as she entered the room, overhearing their conversation: "I'll stay up with you!"  
  
"Arigato, Aya-chan!" Omi smiled back gratefully.  
  
Omi scrolled down the window: "10 years ago, a similar drug was found and sold widely by a trial named 'Dark Dragon'. It was abolished on the same year," He rubbed his chin: "Uh, does this case have anything to do with this case?" He shook his head. Very unlikely since this organisation and its headquarter was destroyed and burnt to the ground many years ago.  
  
He had to trace other ways.  
  
"Any progress, Omi-kun?" Aya asked.  
  
"Nope, I'm still looking." Omi sighed without tearing his eyes from the screen.  
  
"Is it possible to trace whom these victims have offended in common?" Aya suggested as she peered over Omi's shoulder.  
  
"Thanks, Aya-chan, you're a great help!" Omi gleamed although he knew it would be useless.  
  
He looked at the clock.  
  
3:30A.M.  
  
"Don't worry, there's no lesson tomorrow." Aya reminded.  
  
Omi smiled and nodded.  
  
Minutes ticked past.  
  
Omi hacked through his way in many companies' systems. Watching proved to be too tedious for Aya for by the time Omi turned to look at her, she was fast dozing on a sofa.  
  
Omi tiptoed and covered her with a blanket before resuming his search.  
  
In one of the websites, the picture of a dark passingby popped up before his eyes.  
  
It was an area that was part of a headquarter of the late organisation 'Dark Dragon'.  
  
// "Sayonara, Mamoru-kun...." A distant, yet familiar voice smirked. //  
  
Omi clutched his head with a hand.  
  
What was this voice?  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
In a semi-dark room, dimly lit by a hanging ceiling lamp, Takatori Masafumi leaned comfortably on a large armchair.  
  
"Correct. Get more people on my drug. Yes, give it to them for free. I want to prove to everyone that I can create miracles for the hopeless. Consuming my drug will satisfy their dreams to accomplish the impossible.. and to revenge on those who have caused them their current doom."  
  
"Why.... You are asking me why I'm doing this?" His eyes grew large with craze of excitement: "Because I want to save the hopeless from the sea of misery."  
  
"Because I am God."  
  
TO BE CONTINUE......  
  
PHEW!  
  
My original draft ends up too long and I've to spilt up into chap 7 and chap 8. but what I type ends up very different from my original draft. I'll prefer my typed out masterpiece (i.e., the one u are reading now), hee hee..  
  
FINAL...., REVIEW, PLEASE REVIEW!!!! 


	8. Burying the Undead

Disclaimer: No, I DO NOT own Weiss Kreuz and any of its characters so don't sue me because I don't have any extra money for that. Any similar of content to any events is due to pure coincidence and nothing discriminative or infringing copyrights.  
  
PAIRING: Ken/Omi, OOC/Omi  
  
RATING: PG-13 for violence, darkness and slight yaoi  
  
BACKGROUND THEME: 'TRUE LIGHT' by Miyamoto Shunichi-The Opening theme of 'D.N.Angel'  
  
++++AUTHOR'S WORDS++++  
  
HI, minna san! This chap's much faster than expected coz it was drafted out together eith chap 7. and, it turns out differently as expected, heehee.  
  
To beriath : Arigato, Beriath! I'm glad u like it! Hope u'll like this chap too!  
  
To Sakusha: Heeheehee, a bit related, but I'm going to venture into more suspense, bet u'll be extremely surprise by the final outcome, it's going to be uexpected. I've seen ur reviews in most of my chaps, really appreciate it, only happen that I din see ur review for my chap 6, but really, I have to give u a BIG thanks, ARIGATO!!  
  
To Blade6 : glad u enjoy my chap, Blade6, I was afraid that it'll turn out boring. ^_^  
  
~~ +++++++++++++++ ~~  
  
+CODE08: BURY THE UNDEAD+  
  
~~ +++++++++++++++ ~~  
  
The street was lined with jobless thugs despite the cold night. Occasionally, gang fights occurred resulting to murders that would only be uncovered many days later.  
  
A haggard man with matted flaming red hair stumbled along the building, one hand shaking a half filled beer bottle and other on the wall to support his unsteady body as he made his way forward.  
  
Suddenly, he lost his footing and landed on top of a middle-aged man who was kissing wildly with a teenage girl obviously still in her school uniform.  
  
The angry man stood up, grabbed the drunken man by his collar and barked: "WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING, IDOIT?!!"  
  
The drunken man gave a hiccup and stared back in glassy eyes. He suddenly jerked and vomited on the other man's coat. The schoolgirl who was young enough to be the unlucky man's daughter yelped in disgust.  
  
"Get lost!" The man screamed and kicked the red hair man away.  
  
Motor vehicles and busy people on the street cushioned the loud crashing sound of broken beer bottle. No one laid an eye on the fallen man who began to crawl towards the shattered pieces of broken glass and beer on the floor. Neither did any offer a pity eyes when he struck out his tongue to lick the spilled beer on the path.  
  
To them, he was just another hopeless trash of the society meant to be forgetting.  
  
"Beer..... More b..beerr...." The man panted. Two bright black well polished shoes stood before his ground-leveled eyes.  
  
"Are you having some problems in life, Mister?"  
  
The drunken man grunted and ignored him.  
  
The other party knelt down revealing a face with black glasses, tanned face and thick lips: "We can realize your dreams, unleash yourself to accomplish the impossible."  
  
He got up and turned to walk away. The drunken man stared after the man for a second or two before he struggled slowly after him.  
  
"Will... Will there be more beer?" He asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes, more beer, more beer than you can imagine, Mister., fear not, you have nothing to lose." The other man smiled as he led the other through mazes of lanes before walking down a dark basement under a disco club.  
  
There was other man in black suit waiting for them. Despite standing in the darkness, one could make out his high-bridged nose and deep green eyes, defying him of any Asian features.  
  
"We've got a customer here," The first man in black announced.  
  
The second man went over and blocked the only entrance where the first man and the drunken man had entered earlier preventing any route to escape for the drunken man if he had to which proved to be unnecessary.  
  
There was a flash in the air as the first man pulled out a syringe and started to fill it with yellowish liquid from one of the test tubes on the table.  
  
"What is it and where is the beer I am promised?" The drunken man grunted: "Are you trying to sell me drugs? I've no money here."  
  
"Relax, this is a free service." The man gleamed through his sunglasses and walked step by step towards the trapped man. The second man grabbed the drunken man from behind so that he could not move when the needle of the syringe neared his flesh.  
  
"Time to end your game, Misters." A new voice roared.  
  
The first man with the syringe froze as he collapsed onto the ground, not moving. There were lines of cuts on the back. Behind him, a youth in late teens with brown hair shook his blood stained claws to undraw his weapon. The syringe rolled out of his hand.  
  
Fear gripped the second man's eyes. The drunken man suddenly turned alive with agileness and tossed him over onto the floor with a thump. With shaky hands, he tried to reach for the fallen syringe, but a hand took it before he did. It was a blond young boy in mid teens.  
  
"This is the drug that starts all the trouble." He whispered to the rest.  
  
"This man is the only lead to the main source." The 'drunken' man with flaming hair said calmly.  
  
"Mou, this luring job suits Balinese more, too bad he isn't around." The elder youth sighed.  
  
They paused to stare at the trembling man on the floor who had lost all his coolness that existed not too long ago.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
"How's the progress getting on, Crawford?" Farfarello asked monotonously in their headquarter.  
  
"Way too smooth, they are getting closer to our trap." Crawford smiled as he continued to roam through his vision of future.  
  
"Looks like Masafumi-sama's experiment proves to be an excellent stepping stone to uncover the mysterious ritual one of our Eszett elderly has been keeping before his sudden disappearance 20 years ago." Schuldig grinned  
  
A creepy grin drew across Schuldig's lips.  
  
~Stupid fool, he is just wasting his efforts for our aims~  
  
Schuldig never respected Takatori Masafumi. To him, he was just a fool that obsessed in chemicals, creating monsters and imagining himself as Kami. That crazy scientist was supposed to be dead. At least he was killed by his younger brother-Takatori Mamoru's dart, Fujimaya Ran's katana and Brad Crawford's gun shot.  
  
One stormy night, Takatori Masafumi suddenly appeared at the door steps of their headquarter, dripping wet in a trench coat, obviously stolen from someone, wanting them to aid him in his continuous aspiration.  
  
Schuldig remembered it was a thunderstorm night. Lightning flashed across the sky, revealing part of Masafumi's ghastly pale face for a second before engulfing everything into darkness. His face wore no expression, like a corpse that had just risen from its grave.  
  
Not mentioning anything about what they had done to him during Schrient's attempt to revive him or breathing any word about Schreient or his own family clan's destruction, the Schwartz agreed to follow him, intending to use him to seek revenge on Weiss members who had almost killed them during their last battle in the tower.  
  
From a piece of strange lead found amidst the remains in the collapsed tower, the Schwartz learnt that there was one powerful curse long lost 20 years ago together with an Eszett elderly. The three deceased elderly had known and kept this secret from them.  
  
Crawford had long suspected that the three deceased elderly would not have chosen Japan as their station to fulfill their dream out of sheer chance. They must have found that the missing curse was lying somewhere in Tokyo that prompted them to seek Takatori Reiji's help to conquer the country and to travel all the way from Germany here, partly to search the curse themselves.  
  
"Do you refer to the missing curse Eszett used to hold that can cleanse this corrupted world?" Nagi asked.  
  
"Correct." Schuldig: "The ritual is coded 'Projektengel'.."  
  
"Project Tenshi? What a beautiful name." Nagi smiled.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
~Pant, pant, pant....~  
  
Below the rusty metal beams, a seven year old blond boy ran, his little hand clutching a piece of black-and-white photo.  
  
~Save me, Mama, save me, Papa, save me, Uncle! Some one please save me..!~  
  
Once or twice, he turned back, his baby blue eyes darting wildly behind. There was only pit darkness and silence from where he came. Spotting no sight of his pursuers, he heaved a sigh of relieve and came to a halt.  
  
He could not remember how he got to this strange isolated place. All he knew was that someone wanted to take his life.  
  
A sound of boots stopped before him.  
  
Hastily, the boy turned to see a tall man in silhouette against the light emitted from the overhanging lamp. Something shone in his hand.  
  
A silver pistol.  
  
The man was pointing the pistol at the boy's forehead.  
  
"Your existence is a threat, boy, blame yourself for being born into this world."  
  
A click on the trigger.  
  
"Sayonara, Mamoru-kun..."  
  
Instantly, flames blazed its way through the place, tongued into the air and bursted into snow of white feathers spiraling through the hollow darkness.  
  
"UNCLE SHUICHI, SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!" Omi screamed and jolted in the car, hitting his head onto the car ceiling.  
  
"Oi! Daijoubu ka, Omi?" Ken asked from the passenger seat behind. Omi was sitting besides Ran in the front.  
  
"Uh!" Omi tried to force his smile and ran the back of his hand against his forehead. He was covered in cold sweat.  
  
~What's going on with me? Fancy having a nightmare in the midst of our mission.~ Omi scolded himself.  
  
It must be the doing of that picture of the warehouse seen on the Internet the previous night.  
  
Ran took a look at Omi silently and returned his concentration back to driving.  
  
Before them, dark towering skyscrapers, decorated with countless spots of sparkling lights almost resembling part of the stars-covered sky, emerged into view from the horizon of the lit expressway.  
  
However, the prospering look was just a disguise. Behind the mask, the city was corroding. People were poisoning Mother Nature everyday by discarding wastes, destroying forest, polluting rivers and sea. Just like the city, human beings have became violent day by day, resorting to their dissatisfaction of all kinds by means of fights, vandalism, murders... Ages of criminals were becoming younger. Bribery, back stabbing and lies were common in all places, especially among politicians to climb higher levels. Determination of efficiency was no longer graded by how well you fare, but by how you can scheme your way through your organisation and how much you can eliminate your competitors.  
  
"We are approaching," Ran said from the driver's seat.  
  
Omi was still biting his lower lips. The tenseness inflicted from his nightmare still lingered within him.  
  
A strange thought dawned on him. Why couldn't he remember anything 2-3 years after Persia (Takatori Shuichi) saved him from the kidnappers 10 years ago? He had a bad omen that it was something extremely important.  
  
Under some interrogation, the man in black suit revealed that the drug was experimented in an isolated warehouse at the west end of Shinjuku. After handing the man over to Manx, they immediately set off to their next destination.  
  
It was dark and quiet when the three Weiss members reached the place. Not a single light was switched on, not a single soul was seen and the interior was enveloped in complete darkness.  
  
"It could be a trap." Ran whispered and hinted the younger members to put on their night glasses. He did not want the enemies to know they were here.  
  
Everywhere, tables, chairs, beds and several apparatus lay scattered, overturned and smashed. Unknown chemicals dripped, almost like loud thumping sounds caused by their hearts.  
  
Obviously, these people knew their whereouts were discovered and the base was isolated overnight.  
  
"We are too late." Omi shook his head.  
  
"Not really. We will spilt up and investigate," Ran instructed: "Stay in touch through the transmitter." The rest nodded in agreement.  
  
Omi tucked himself tighter with his jacket. It was close to mid autumn and the place was much colder than outside. There were bits of dark liquid on the ground. He knelt besides it and put a gloved finger to it. He sniffed. No doubt, it was blood.  
  
Deep lines engraved into the ground, forming a square. He dug his fingers into the narrow gap and pulled. A dark hole met his eyes. Just as he expected, it was a trap door. As he walked down the steps, the patches of blood increased in size and quantity.  
  
"Guys," Omi could feel a slight tremor in his voice: "I've found a trap door near the furthest end of the room where a large shelf is. And, I see a lot of blood as I enter."  
  
"Omi, stay where you are. I'm coming." Ken responded through the transmitter.  
  
"Hai." Omi heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
The tunnel was ghastly cold, quiet and eerie. He knew he needed someone to accompany him. The situation was too unusual. He was standing in the middle of the staircase that seemed to suspend in the darkness. Looking up, he could vaguely register the opening based on the texture of the surfaces.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound and the trap door snapped shut.  
  
"NO!!" Omi gasped and raced all the way to the top, but in vain.  
  
"Omi, I can't locate the trap door!" Ken was desperate: "I.." The receiving was cut off.  
  
"KEN-KUN!!" Omi screamed. He was locked alone in total silence and darkness and his transmitter was dead quiet.  
  
"Ran-kun! Can you hear me?"  
  
Silence.  
  
It was a nightmare. A nightmare in reality.  
  
"Ken-kun! Ran-kun! Please response!" Omi cried out in terror.  
  
"Ken-kun.. Ran-kun.. Ken-kun.. Ran-kun..." Omi's screams echoed in the tunnel.  
  
Omi hugged himself in both fear and cold. He could feel his body trembling violently. With the above route cut off, he made his way down.  
  
Almost like eternity, he finally made it to the ground.  
  
Drip.. Drip.. Drip.... Drip.... Sound of water trickled from unknown places.  
  
In the darkness, Omi saw someone in laboratory coat sitting on a chair with his back at him. Very softly, Omi approached the person. No response.  
  
"Hey!" Omi called.  
  
The person, obviously a man, did not stir. Omi swallowed hard and gave him a light push. The man fell off. Omi reached over and gasped. One of his white sleeves was hollow and drenched in his own blood. His eye sockets were gone and his mouth was wide opened as though he had seen something terrible before his death.  
  
Omi quickly shifted his attention from the corpse.  
  
More met his eyes.  
  
Everywhere, disfigured corpses in laboratory coats scattered, either with missing arms or legs. Many had huge holes dug into their faces or chests. Blood stained the walls and ground in a wild exotic dance manner.  
  
Omi could imagine a situation. The news about the discovery of the whereout broke out. To cover the truth, the mastermind commanded his men to trap both the scientists involved and the freed 'guinea pigs' together in the basement. With the 'guinea pigs' tearing the scientists apart in the mad massacres, the identity of the mastermind was protected.  
  
Omi covered his mouth. He felt like vomiting. He retreated backwards to the nearest wall, hoping to get some support and protection from the cold surface.  
  
His back banged into something firm and muscular. Omi jumped and turned to look up. A pair of glassy eyes glanced down at him emotionlessly.  
  
// "Sayonara, Mamoru-kun...."// The strange voice coursed through Omi's mind.  
  
A low growl rumbled in the newcomer's throat. He shot a fist at Omi. Omi leaped aside and the blow barely hit him.  
  
Crush! Part of the wall besides him was smashed into a hole.  
  
With the aid of the night glasses, Omi found the person almost a head and the half head taller than him. He wore torn patient's coat, stained with dots of blood. The man shone a sheepish grin. Saliva found its way down his gapped mouth.  
  
A fearful shriek pierced through the freezing air.  
  
Omi's scream.  
  
"Omi! Omi! Can you hear me? OMI, ANSWER ME!!!!!" Ken screamed hysterically into his transmitter over and over again, but received no response.  
  
"Omi says he found a trap door near a shelf. Any result?" Ran asked through the transmitter.  
  
"Nope, not at all!" Ken cried out.  
  
~Omi, please, please wait for me....~ Ken prayed silently to himself.  
  
Omi's innocent gentle smile.. Omi's bright blue eyes... Not the fear dead Omi. No, no, no!!!  
  
Blood trickled down the boy's forehead as callused hands closed round his tender fair neck. The boy was lifted feet off the ground.  
  
Omi had used up all his darts, piercing the attacker from head to toes; yet, he did not seemed to be affected in the slightest bit.  
  
Omi's eyes were no longer focused on his attacker. Instead, he was staring into the darkness above, ignoring the suffocation and pain the other was inflicting on him.  
  
~ Gomen ne sai, Ken-kun, I can't wait for you any longer..My vision start to blur. Am I dying now? Am I going to see Uncle Shuichi and Oka now?~  
  
Suddenly, warm liquid splashed onto his face and the force around his neck vanished. Omi felt himself falling into a warm embrace. In the darkness, he could feel someone looking down at him.  
  
"Ken-kun.....," Omi choked weakly: "Is that you...." His sentence came to a halt as his eyes became accustomed to the darkness. He was not Hidaka Ken. Omi's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
~Takashi Rei. What is he doing here?~  
  
Omi wanted to bolt his body up. Unfortunately, all his strength was utilized to fight the insane man and the movement only resulted to weak struggle in the other man's arms.  
  
Warm hands ruffled his blood stained hair, warm arms embracing his exhausted body.. It was so much different from the brutal battle and the suffocating feeling from the insane man...  
  
Wait a minute, where is that insane man in patient's coat?  
  
"Your attacker's dead," Takashi Rei seemed to read Omi's mind and pulled Omi's shivering body closer in a warm cuddle: "You are saved now, Takatori- san.."  
  
~Takatori-san? He knows I am Takatori?~ Omi stiffened.  
  
"Of course I do. We've met in 'Zombie' before."  
  
"You.. you can read my mind?!" Omi cried out weakly in shock.  
  
"That's my unfortunate special ability from child birth." Takashi Rei sighed sadly.  
  
"Then you know I'm a 'he', why did you kiss me in the first place?" Omi stammered.  
  
He felt tender brown eyes on his: "I.. I can't help it."  
  
"Let me go!" Omi struggled: "Did you." Warm lips closed onto Omi's, silencing him into a heated kiss, gently nibbling his bottom lip, begging for an entrance. In his shock, Omi did not register when the older man slipped his tongue into his mouth, tasting him slowly.  
  
Takashi Rei slowly deepened the kiss and ran his hands into the hems of the jacket, inhaling the boy's sweet scent and absorbing into the deepness of boy's blue eyes.  
  
~Stop, please stop!~ Omi pleaded silently.  
  
~Onegai, I want you for so long. Don't worry, I only touch you and I won't hurt you.~ The man's voice crept into Omi's mind.  
  
A loud explosion disrupted his attention. He broke the kiss.  
  
"OMI!!!!!!!!" It was Ken: "Omi! Where are you??!!!!"  
  
A surge of relief ran through his veins: "I'm here, Ken-kun!"  
  
"Omi!" Ken's voice was relieved.  
  
~Omi's alive! Omi's still alive!~ Ken could not believe he was any happier, to learn that Omi was still in this world despite the dangers that almost took the boy away.  
  
Ken raced down the staircase and halted in shock. A man in patient's coat lay on the ground dead with his head crushed like a smashed bean curd. But what shocked him was not that. Omi was lying.... in a stranger's arms.  
  
"Who are you?" Ken questioned menacingly and cold: "Get your hands off Omi."  
  
"Omi? Your name is Omi?" Takashi Rei's voice was surprised.  
  
"Hai. My current name is Tsukuyono Omi." Omi whispered exhaustedly.  
  
"Tsukuyono Omi?" There was a shock in Takashi Rei's voice: "Tsukuyono Omi?"  
  
"What's wrong with the name?" Omi felt a tinge of offense.  
  
"Eh, nothing," Takashi Rei resumed his calm look: "Your friend over there is anxious for you. Can you sit up?"  
  
Omi quickly nodded.  
  
"The name's Hidaka Ken," Ken roared from the other side furiously, obviously infuriated by Takashi Rei's presence by Omi's side: "I'm not just his 'friend', I..."  
  
"Hai, hai, Ken-kun." Omi quickly cut his words. Ken appeared unusually worked up.  
  
Takashi Rei ignored Ken's displeasure and spoke to Omi in gentle tone: "I'll see you again next time. Can I still call you Takatori-san?" Omi nodded, noting with great surprise at Ken's reddened face.  
  
"If there's nothing more, get the hell out of here!!!" Ken roared.  
  
Takashi Rei seemed to ignore Ken's presence. Very gently, he placed Omi on the floor and vanished into the darkness.  
  
~Jah, Takatori-san, I'm leaving this building first. We'll meet next time.~ His voice spoke in Omi's mind.  
  
Immediately after Takashi Rei left, Ken ran to Omi's side and pulled him into tight embrace: "Omi, who is he? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"  
  
"Ken-kun, can we leave this building first? I'm not sure if there's anymore of such 'species' in this basement." Omi did not dare to relate Ken of the kiss. He could imagine his fury if he did.  
  
"We'll meet up with Ran. This place has to be blown up." Ken said as he carefully picked Omi up in his arms.  
  
Just as he expected, Omi was light as a feather. He was so small and slender that he fitted in Ken's arms. Ken could not resist a relief as he felt the younger boy huddled closer to him and his baby soft hair brushing slightly against his neck.  
  
In a few minutes' time, the building was engulfed in a sea of fire. In the midst of the cracking sound, Omi could faintly hear roars of hysterical screams from the 'guinea pigs' still trapped in the basement. It reminded him of the zombies in a play station game 'Resident Evil'.  
  
"The mastermind is still around. This mission is far from complete." Ran said firmly: "He has gathered all his chemists, together with the freed 'guinea pigs' into a basement and has destroyed all important evidences."  
  
"Although this may not be of much help, I'll check with Manx's tape for more leads." Omi said from the safety of the car.  
  
"I guess that's all we can do." Ken grunted gruffly.  
  
Unknowingly, they did not see a green hair girl sitting on a tree branch, watching them from afar.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
"How's your finding, Nagi?" Crawford asked as the youngest Schwartz member returned from the scene of the destroyed warehouse.  
  
"Just as you've seen, the plan is going on very smoothly." The boy replied with a smile: "The warehouse is burnt down to the ground."  
  
"Very good," Schuldig smirked: "Other Weiss can die first, but leave Takatori Mamoru alive."  
  
"Why the sudden interest in that kid?" Crawford smiled mockingly: "Care to share?"  
  
"You have not seen him in feminine clothes, he's.... dashing..." Schuldig licked his lips lustfully.  
  
"This is going to hurt god." Farfarello said: "Too bad, Masafumi's experiment is disrupted, it is going on the same path of our belief."  
  
"I don't see him affected by its destruction." Nagi commented: "I wonder why." He suddenly smiled: "You should have seen the terrified face of the chemists when I drove them down into the basement with the experimented monsters."  
  
In the semi-darkness of the laboratory, Takatori Masafumi was staring into the empty air with widened hysterical eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Mamoru-kun, Anijia (elder brother) is going to fetch you home. Don't worry, Mamoru-kuunnnnn...... Hee hee hee, ha ha ha ha ha......."  
  
His giggling echoed in the cold hollow air for a long long time.....  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
That night back to the basement of the florist shop, Omi pushed Manx's tape into the video tape player connected to his computer.  
  
"Don't stay up too late, Omi. You are still hurt from that mission." Ken yawned.  
  
"Hai, hai. Oyasumi, Ken-kun!"  
  
"Oyasumi, Omi." Ken yawned as he made his way back to his bedroom.  
  
Omi smiled and returned his gaze back to his computer screen.  
  
Persia's image appeared and started his speech.  
  
"Osp! Wrong tape!" Omi gasped. Out of his tiredness, he had taken a tape that was recorded before Persia's death.  
  
Instantly, he stopped and switched to the correct one.  
  
"Stupid me." Omi scolded himself.  
  
The tape ran again. Omi's eyes were slightly glazed.  
  
~Am I too tired? The contrast from the window in the tape looks so different from the one I've watched earlier. Aren't the images of Persia in the latest tapes duplicated from the earlier ones before his death?~ Omi wondered.  
  
He suddenly bolted upwards and re-run the two tapes again.  
  
~Just as I suspect. We are all deceived.~  
  
// "Sayonara, Mamoru-kun...."//  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Manx returned to her seat by the computer.  
  
A new message popped up. It was from 'TS'.  
  
She still missed the time when Persia was still alive. A week after his death, she received a mail from a person from 'TS'. Ever since, she had been communicating with this person for months till today. 'TS' was a very analytical person and had offered many helpful advises and leads to Manx that aided her to crack countless unknown cases. Their interaction was a secret from everyone, including Birman. Even the computerized videotapes of Persia was suggested, provided and mailed to her from 'TS'.  
  
Manx smiled faintly and opened the new mail.  
  
The sentence wrote:  
  
//Tsukuyono Omi is still alive. Keep a close watch on him and his cursed ritual-Project Angel.//  
  
Manx tensed.  
  
Unknown to her, a highly programmed computer bug was activated into her computer.  
  
-END OF CODE08-  
  
Phew! End of chap! I'm so shocked to find this chap ending like a horror movie, mua ha ha ha, maybe I should nickname myself Takatori Masafumi, coz I can understand his nature of character better than other people in the anime, ha ha ha ha..  
  
Hope this chap's not going to frighten most of u away. ONEGAI, PLEASE REVIEW, REIVEW!!!!!!! 


	9. Annihilate

Summary: Continue from end of Episode #24. Awaken of Omi's forgotten nightmares. Resurgence of Masafumi. Schwartz's hunt for the lost Eszett ancient ritual. The reappearance of Schreient. What is the cruel truth behind the origin of Kritiker?  
  
+CODE09: ANNIHILATE+  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Ohaiyo!!! It's been a while since my last chapter!! Hopefully this chapter will not be any disappointment! I love BOTH Ran/Omi and Ken/Omi pairings! Omi makes an excellent uke because he is small and cute (I can even imagine how he looks like if he dresses like a girl), hentai me. Unfortunately, due to the flow of this fic and restriction of ff.net, I can only do Ken/Omi fluffy.  
  
Sigh, only three comments for chapter 08. There's only two possibilities: one, my fic is really bad and unattractive; two, it's now exam session so no one has much time to read and comment my fic. I believe it should be the first coz other fics do not encounter the same problem as me.. Sigh....either I force myself to buck up or is there anyone out there who's willing to beta-read for me?????..... Tired me...  
  
To xXLil Yu JahXx: I still have to thank you coz you've given me so much encouragement that inspires me to continue this work :p I'm going to explain Takashi Rei's matter soon, either this chap or the next coming chap, you'll be (or maybe not) shocked, tee hee.. And the green hair girl... I'm explaining in this chap.. Actually she's not that scary.... (smirk) Hope u like this chap! Arigato!  
  
To Blade6: I'm updating now! Hope u like it! :)  
  
To sou: Tee hee, it sure is going to be a big plot, there's going to be a lot of Omi-torture around (emotionally I mean, physically I can't coz of ff.net's policy)  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
BACKGROUND THEME: 'No Reason'-Opening theme of Weiss Kreuz OVA  
  
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Weiss Kreuz or any of its characters, especially Takatori Mamoru although I 100% adore this kawaii bishonen. Any collaboration of its content to any events is caused by sheer coincidence so please DON'T SUE ME!!!!! I have no money for that!!!!!  
  
WARNING: PG for this chapter for darkness and boy-boy love fluffiness  
  
Pairing: Ken/Omi, Ken/Yuriko, Yoji/Asuka  
  
New Appearance: READ ON AND FIND OUT!!!!  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
"Doshite... .... why didn't you come to fetch Tot Tot? Tot Tot is scared..... Tot Tot do not want to go back to 'him'... Tot Tot is so scared and lonely..... No one is coming to save Tot Tot....."  
  
In the midst of the darkness, a small frail figure huddled shivering, sobbing in such child-like and despondent voice that was enough to break anyone's heart. Her green bang covered her face as she pulled her legs to her chest, hoping the dark abyss would swallow her forever so that she would no longer have to go through the cruel nightmare in reality.  
  
"......Tot Tot ...... is really frightened......"  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Dark is the shadow of Light;  
  
And Light, the reflection of Dark.  
  
In the Real World, who can clearly differentiate the boundary between rights and wrongs?  
  
The answer is, No One.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
In a training basement hall, a twelve-year-old blonde boy was practicing his dart-shooting technique. Nearby, a tall well-built man in his early thirties watched on.  
  
"Excellent, you have improved tremendously, Omi." The man praised and clapped: "Take a break."  
  
The young boy turned and gave a bright smile: "You really think so, Persia?"  
  
("Oi, Omi, wake up.....")  
  
"Persia, why must I learn these? My classmates have never done that?"  
  
Although the man's face was semi-covered in darkness, one could notice his softened eyes behind his sunglasses: "Omi, you have a mission to do so and you must learn how to protect yourself. No one can watch over you forever."  
  
"But, I don't want to want to become an assassinator!" Young Omi protested.  
  
("It's already eight o'clock, time to get up, Omittchi!")  
  
"Omi," Persia's voice was firm: "You must understand."  
  
"No, I don't!" Omi retorted angrily: "Why must people kill one another? Why can't everyone live in harmony? Why must I kill? No one has the right to take other people's lives!" Omi could feel his voice shaking.  
  
("Omi, you are crying. Are you having a nightmare?")  
  
"What makes you so irresponsible and cruel?" Omi screamed at Persia: "What makes you think you can order people to take other people's lives? You have no authority to do so! We can change people's thinking, but we can't take their lives!"  
  
"Omi," Persia's voice was calm: "It's too late for some people to change. Their hands are already stained with innocent blood. Is this fair for those they have killed for their own benefits and ambitions?"  
  
Persia's figure began to falter.  
  
"NO, WAIT!! Don't go yet, Persia!!!" Omi yelled and ran after the disappearing figure.  
  
"PERSIA!!!!!!!! UNCLE SHUICHI!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Everything became glaring white as morning light splashed into his eyes.  
  
Omi blinked. The light softened to show Ken's concerned face before him.  
  
"Oi, Omi, Daijoubu ka?"  
  
Omi touched his own face and felt wetness on his cheeks. His head was resting on his computer that was now in sleeping mode.  
  
"Uh, I was dreaming of Oka again." Omi lied.  
  
"Yeah right, you were calling 'Persia' in your sleep." Ken said, poking Omi's forehead with a finger: "Think of a better excuse, Omi."  
  
"You are working too hard, Omi. And Yoji's not returned from his tracking yet." Ran said as he handed a cup of coffee to Omi: "Go and wash up. Aya is waiting for you."  
  
"Arigato, Ran-kun." Omi gratefully accepted the cup.  
  
"Hayaku, Omi-kun!" Aya waved at the door: "We are going to be late!!"  
  
"Uh! Gomen ne sai! Give me 10 minutes!" Omi switched off his computer and ran to get himself prepared for school.  
  
Ken watched the running teen. The vision of a stranger holding Omi in his arms remained fresh on his mind.  
  
~Urusai nai (Unforgivable)....... Who is he related to Omi?~ Ken could feel a tinge of anger within him.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
It was past a day and there was a single finding.  
  
Yoji tried to shuffle a yawn in his car. He hadn't a wink of sleep for two consecutive nights, thanks to this young lady named Asuka.  
  
But Yoji did not regret. Watching the Asuka-look-alike lady busying herself with news hunt reminded him of his old detective life with his partner- Asuka. It appeared that the lady was a part-time journalist who wrote and sold articles to newspapers and magazine publishers.  
  
Yoji rested his chin against his elbow at his windowsill. He could not help smiling at the scenes.  
  
It had been two years; two years since Persia sent his informers to save him from the clutch of some villains related to Takatori Reiji's ambitious plot after witnessing Asuka being shot right before his very eyes.  
  
Yes, he could vividly remember that incident.  
  
(Yoji watched in despair as Asuka fell at the gun shot before him. "ASUKA!!!!!!!!" Yoji screamed with his outstretched hand.)  
  
~That's right, this scene will never be erased from my memory. Never ever...~ Yoji thought.  
  
Two years ago, Yoji and Asuka came across a continuous young girls kidnapping and sold as prostitutes' case. Their target discovered their whereouts when their undercover friend was murdered. Yoji was seriously injured and Asuka shot when she tried to get help. Later, Yoji blacked out. When he came to, he was in the safety of a Kritiker-based hospital. According to Manx, Kritiker had been tracking the masterminds of the serial kidnapping because they were working under Takatori Reiji. Asuka's corpse was never found. By that time when Kritiker agents reached the scene, she had vanished as though she was never there before.  
  
After the loss of Asuka, Yoji's life turned upside down. He was surviving like a living corpse. There was no longer meaning to live.  
  
For months, Yoji lived on alcohol and night clubbing almost everyday whenever he had bits of cash in hand. One night, he was beaten up by some thugs for owing them money on gambling. Manx came to his aid.  
  
Heavily indebt for his expenditures from his activities, he agreed to join as part of the assassination team--- Weiss Kreuz despite knowing that he would have to get his hands stained with human blood from now on. Human lives to be precise. He did not care. Anyway, he almost died once and Asuka was gone.  
  
Kudo Yoji was the third to join. Hidaka Ken entered the team later. Before him was Tsukuyono Omi, then Fujimaya Ran.  
  
Fujimaya Ran had joined the team to pay off his sister's hospital fees and to go for his enemy's blood whom he later knew was Takatori Reiji. Ken seemed to have joined for almost similar reason as his except he was betrayed and almost killed by his best friend who he later killed in a mission.  
  
But Tsukuyono Omi? Yoji had expected Omi to be an old man, or someone at least around his or Ran's age, but he appeared to be a then fifteen year old innocent looking and cute looking youngster. Joining to pay off his education fee? Very unlikely, besides he was too young and happy looking to have loads of enemies to go for. Yoji never asked the child.  
  
Yoji sighed: "Am I thinking too much?" He was supposed to watch the Asuka- alike and not doing flashbacks. This was supposed to be left for his retirement leisure. Yoji smirked sarcastically. Yeah, retirement leisure. What a sense of humor he had.  
  
Asuka was now running into a dark alley. Yoji narrowed his eyes. He ran out of his car and followed from afar. He listened attentively through his transmitter. He had secretly attached one in Asuka's handbag. He could hear the lady panted heavily and the sound of her shoes as she ran.  
  
"It is time for you to return where you belong, Asuka. Master seems to have give you too much freedom." A strangely familiar feminine voice was heard in the transmitter.  
  
Yoji froze. That voice! He knew who she was, but it was impossible! Hell- the former member of Schreient! She was supposed to be dead. He remembered seeing her hugging Takatori Masafumi as chunks of cements fell on top of them.  
  
"I don't know who you are, but I'm not going with you!" Yoji heard Asuka's rebellious like voice snarled: "And stop following me like a dog! I've been tolerating you for weeks!"  
  
"Oh really? That's too bad...." Hell's voice chucked coldly.  
  
There was a mixed noises of things thrown over, vaguely like dustbins and waste boxes.. and Asuka's shrieks!  
  
Instantly, Yoji dashed into the alley. Dustbins and abandoned boxes scattered all over the place.  
  
A handbag laid by his foot. Asuka's handbag, together with the tracker and transmitter.  
  
Asuka was gone. He lost her. Again...  
  
~Hell, has Hell abducted Asuka?~ Yoji grinded.  
  
"ASUKA!!!!!!" Yoji roared on top of his voice.  
  
There was nothing he could do except to head back for other Weiss Kreuz members' help.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
"Ken, Ken, what's on your mind?" Yuriko asked almost a dozen times.  
  
"Er? Nothing." Ken quickly looked up from his drink in a café.  
  
"Liar," Yuriko said lightly; her face became serious: "Something is bothering you. Do you mind sharing with me?"  
  
"I...." Ken's face turned a fierce scarlet red. How could he possibly tell her that a man holding Omi during the night of the most recent mission was troubling him?  
  
"Ken, don't you trust me?" Yuriko asked. Her concerned expression immediately reminded him of Omi. The same eyes that were willing to listen and the heart that was willing to share his woes.. the same honey coloured hair...  
  
No, wait a minute, Yuriko reminded him of OMI?????!!!!! What was he thinking again?  
  
"Eh... maybe I have been staying up too late. I'm.. tired...." Ken quickly shuffled a yawn.  
  
Yuriko sighed: "Is that so? I think we should go back first." Her face brightened: "We can still meet other days. You need your rest too!" She picked up her bag and waved at Ken cheerfully: "Jah nah!"  
  
~Gomen ne sai, Yuriko...~ Ken thought.  
  
It was time for him to carry out his own investigation. He was not going to let that stranger go scot-free for interfering their last mission just like that.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
//There is no turning back as long as I stay true to my faith.//  
  
Crawford Brad rested his back against his large comfortable armchair and whirled to the window that showed an overview of the beautiful night scenery of the busiest part of Tokyo city from his office in the highest storey of an important government building.  
  
He pulled down his sunglasses. It was his strong faith to see his vision of humanity that prompted him to join Eszett after he graduated from a University in Washington many years back. Within a year, he won respects from the elderly in the organisation and formed Schwartz-a team of assassinators with supernatural abilities.  
  
//Crawford, pondering over your past again?// He felt Schuldig's smirk by the door.  
  
Crawford put on his sunglasses: "Anything?"  
  
"Nagi went out," Schuldig grinned: "...again. He keeps thinking someone was stalking ever since he came back from the monster laboratory in the warehouse."  
  
"He never changes his habit. He is still sensitive." Crawford said uninterested: "Any findings of 'that person'?"  
  
"Very soon, I've set a trap for that." Schuldig smiled: "Soon, a good show is going to start."  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Blood trickled down his arm as he made his way through the lit street. Aches and sores coursed through his body like parasites.  
  
Physical injury was not his main concern. It was the emotional pain and regret.  
  
//A pair of hurt child-like eyes pierced his heart: "Why didn't you look for Tot Tot? Tot Tot is hurt and scared..... Tot Tot has only Nagi to turn to now, but you did not look for me..."//  
  
A sad smile drew across his thin lips: "I disappoint Tot Tot..." He gripped onto his wounds on his arm, hoping his pain would drown him from his regret. He never knew Tot had been watching him from the burning warehouse, he just felt it. She only appeared before him after he tried to pursue her.  
  
//Sharp pain shot through his vein as he tried to reach forward to hug the green hair girl in the shadowed alley. A cruel expression replaced her tearful face.  
  
"Do you think I'll be such a fool to wait for you forever? Who do you think you are? Dream on! I've no hope for you anymore!"//  
  
He tried to force his tears back. Ever since the Schwartz took him in after being abandoned by the world, he had promised himself not to cry.  
  
"Where have you gone to, Nagi?" Farfarello's monotonous voice woke him from his thoughts: "We are getting onto our next step of our plan." His uninjured eye shone at the sight of Nagi's bleeding arm.  
  
"I'm going to wash up," Nagi quickly said, avoiding Farfarello's chilling stare.  
  
Tot's leaping towards a newly emerged form of a middle-aged man in silhouette without looking back still troubled him.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
The Criminal Investigation Bureau Headquarter was heavily secured with guards and technology. Nearby, a small figure, like a shadow, slipped silently, easily assessing and broke through the security system as though it had been doing these all the times.  
  
It was a teenage boy in dark blue jacket. Tsukiyono Omi.  
  
Within an hour, he proceeded into Manx's office. Skillfully attaching false data into the surveillance cameras in the nearby areas, he moved into the room. There was no one there. His bright blue eyes narrowed as he neared her personal computer.  
  
~ Time to get to work. ~ Omi ran through the files into the system. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he scanned his way through the documents.  
  
Just then, his handphone vibrated in his pocket interrupting his thoughts. It was an SMS from Hidaka Ken.  
  
It read: 'Don't come home, Omi, it concerns life and death!'  
  
Omi stared for a second without moving; he had a very bad feeling that something terrible was happening in Koneko no Sumu Ie if what he saw on the computer was true. Swiftly shutting down the system, he made his way out of the building.  
  
'Ken-kun, Ran-kun, Yoji-kun, you all must be alright!' Omi prayed silently to himself on his way back to Koneko no Sumu Ie.  
  
Cold rain descended, drenching Omi to the skin, but he did not care. He rode his way back. Glaring reds and yellows zoomed past him as he traveled through the busy red light district in Shinjuku.  
  
Rain drops ran down his scooter goggles, blurring his vision ahead.  
  
Ken's SMS flashed through his mind again.  
  
~ Don't come home, Omi, it concerns life and death! ~  
  
Koneko no Sumu Ie was dark and quiet from afar. Omi slowed down his scooter to a halt. He jumped down and ran towards the entrance, ignoring the rain beating heavily on his body.  
  
He stopped.  
  
The rain became heavier.  
  
Before Koneko no Sumu Ie, three tall figures stood in the rain.  
  
"Ran-kun! Ken-kun! Yoji-kun! You are all alright!" Omi exclaimed in relief: "Was there anything wrong earlier?"  
  
"Omi, why, why did you return?" Ken whispered sadly. His voice became angry and loud: "WHY DIDN'T YOU HEED MY MESSAGE???!!!"  
  
Omi stared at Ken feeling puzzled and looked at Yoji. Yoji turned his face away.  
  
Omi noticed they had no scars or marks of any earlier battles he had expected. He looked at Ran. There was light of predatory in his eyes. To Omi. Omi was the prey. Something dawned in his mind. They were all out to kill him-Tsukiyono Omi!  
  
"Eh, guys?" Omi cleared his throat, trying to soften the atmosphere: "Is this some kind of jokes?"  
  
"The latest mission, Omi." Ran said solemnly as he unsheathed his katana: ".... is to annihilate Tsukiyono Omi-the possessor of Eszett's long lost evil ritual that can destroy this world."  
  
Omi stood stunned on the spot, not knowing how to react.  
  
"Wait, Ran!" Yoji protested: "This could be some kind of misunderstanding! Omi is only a child!"  
  
"This is a message from Persia brought forward to us by Manx in person. What more do you doubt?" Ran's fiery eyes did not leave Omi's face.  
  
Omi stood trembling. No, he thought, this was not true. How could those he had trusted and had been treating like his family members suddenly all turned against him, wanting to take his life?  
  
("Cold parents you have, kid, your father does not want you," The kidnapper snickered at the seven-year-old Takatori Mamoru.)  
  
No, no, his father had already abandoned him once, leaving him to die. Why would the people in Kritiker, especially Manx who had watched him grown up, Yoji, Ran and Ken who had went through so much life and death wanting to take his life and not trusting him?  
  
Omi felt like laughing out, to let out his angst and frustration that accumulated in within him. He suddenly felt despondent with this world. There was nothing to live for now.  
  
Ran slowly advanced towards him. As if rooted to the ground, Omi only stared as the scarlet hair leader lifted his katana, ready to stab him.  
  
"Don't worry, Omi." Ran's eyes remained cold and harsh, but Omi could detect slight hint of tenderness in his tone: "I'll make this quick so that you will not feel the pain."  
  
Omi closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the blow.  
  
It never arrived.  
  
A metallic crank sounded in the air.  
  
Omi opened his eyes to see Ken blocking Ran's katana with his bugnuks.  
  
"Ken! Do you know what's going to happen if you deny Persia's order?!" Ran roared angrily.  
  
"I'll never let you hurt Omi!" Ken screamed. Lightning flashed across the sky, brightening the surroundings and thunder roared.  
  
Ken turned to Omi: "Run, Omi! I'll stall him up!"  
  
"Demo, Ken-kun...." Omi hesitated.  
  
"RUN, OMI!!! RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!" Ken screamed on top of his voice against the raging rain and thunder impatiently.  
  
Another flash of lightning showed Ken's worried face. He flew another claw, blocking Ran's katana movement.  
  
Omi felt tears strung in his eyes. He nodded and ran.  
  
Suddenly, shiny strings webbed around him and bound his limbs apart.  
  
"Yoji-kun!" Omi gasped and struggled hard, but ended up entangled deeper into the web of translucent wires.  
  
"Gomen ne sai, Omittchi." Yoji said, pulling the other ends of his wires that confined Omi's freedom.  
  
On the other side, Ran managed to throw Ken onto the ground: "The last chance, Hidaka, slain Tsukiyono Omi!"  
  
Ken shot his blood red eyes at his leader and grinded his teeth so hard that Omi could hear chattering sound against the roaring rain pour. Knowing there was no escape, Ken rose to his feet and approached the bound blue- eyed teen.  
  
Omi looked up fearfully. Ken moved closer and caressed the boy's face tenderly.  
  
"Give me one day, just one day to clear my name..... Onegai, Ken-kun....." Omi pleaded helplessly.  
  
Ken's eyes was filled with sadness as he lifted Omi's chin so that he could look into the younger boy's eyes: "I'm so sorry, Omi, I can't protect you anymore...."  
  
He leaned forward and kissed Omi's pale lips. It was a gentle and warm kiss. Omi's heart raced. He closed his eyes. There would be no regret before dying knowing that in Ken's mind; he was more than his friend.  
  
Two rows of tears, mixed with rainwater, ran down Omi's cheeks.  
  
Yoji turned his face away guiltily. Ran continued to stare coldly as if administrating the trial.  
  
Tenderly, the kiss broke and Ken raised his clawed gloved hand.  
  
Instantly, Omi felt his bound relieved. He felt a hand grabbed his and pulled him into a run.  
  
"Ken-kun?" Omi opened his eyes and stared at the older teen.  
  
Ken grinned: "I'm running away with you, Omi."  
  
"Hidaka Ken!" Ran roared and gave chase.  
  
"Onni-chan!!!!" Aya cried out from Koneko no Sumu Ie in shock. She never expected her brother to go after Omi's life. Ran froze to look at his sister.  
  
"Doshite, Onni-chan?" Aya stammered tearfully.  
  
"Aya...." Ran whispered.  
  
Ken immediately took the opportunity to pull Omi onto his motorcycle and left Koneko no Sumu Ie. Yoji only stood and watched their faltering backs. Like Ken, he was reluctant to kill Omi.  
  
"Good luck, kids.." Yoji whispered to himself.  
  
Cold wind blew.  
  
Omi snuggled closer onto Ken's back on the motorcycle.  
  
"Arigato, Ken-kun.." Omi whispered: "....for trusting me..."  
  
Afar, four figures stood watching Ken and Omi's disappearing figures.  
  
"The plan is working brilliantly, Crawford." Nagi smirked.  
  
"That's right, Nagi," Crawford smiled: "Very soon, we'll be able to track 'him' down."  
  
Watching the spot where Omi was last seen, Schuldig smirked: "What will be mine will soon be mine..... Mamoru......."  
  
~~ ++END OF CODE09++ ~~  
  
++AUTHOR'S WORDS++  
  
Ohayo!! Finally finished chapter 9!! At least 2 of the Schreient members revive again! Does the last part remind you Weiss Kreuz OVA? (i.e. Ken + Omi against Ran + Yoji)  
  
There's quite a lot of skips and hops around different characters here. The next chapter will heavily focus on Omi and Ken. Because I'm a serious Ken/Omi addicted lover. Heh! Heh! Heh!  
  
PLEASE READ & REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	10. Angelic Tears

CODE10: ANGELIC TEARS  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Omi, Takatori Mamoru, Hidaka Ken, Yuriko or any character in Weiss Kreuz. I only own Takashi Rei (Actually Takashi Rei = me Southpark! Heh! Just kidding). Oh, and I DO NOT own Treufel (shocking? You'll know why in the later chapters). So DO NOT sue me, I'm going to broke if anyone of you ever do that.. sniff!  
  
Eh, ooh, another thing, Ken and Omi's first meeting is made up by me, so don't bother hunting through Weiss Kreuz manga, anime episodes and OVA, you'll never find them. :p  
  
Warning: RATED PG to PG-13 for ANGST, blood scene and yaoi implications. Most important of all, Omi torturing (Don't worry, Omi, I'll always love you and your kawaii smile)  
  
THEME: 'Scarlet' from 'Ayashi no Ceres' opening  
  
Pairing: Ken/Omi, Crawford/Omi, Takashi Rei/Omi, Ken/Yuriko (Mah! I love pairing big evil characters with cute little Omi)  
  
Now onto the story!  
  
~ ~ + + AMIDST THE DARKNESS + + ~ ~  
  
'So, my Bishounen has escaped?" A low chuckle rose in the air.  
  
"It's time for our reunion..., my Mamoru...."  
  
As sudden as its appearance, the chuckle trailed away, replaced by a hair- standing cruel laughter....  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
.... We rise or fall by the choice we make;  
It all depends on the road we take  
And the choice and the road each depend  
On the lies we live by  
And from which we die....  
  
(Extracted from 'Mental Fight' by Ben Okri, Nigeria)  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Rain had reduced to drizzle when they stopped before a dilapidated and seemingly unoccupied apartment situated in the older and abandoned part of Tokyo.  
  
"Omi, we're here," Ken gently rocked the sleepy teen behind him by his shoulder.  
  
"Hmh?" Omi muttered and rubbed his eyes: "Where are we, Ken-kun?"  
  
"My old house. It's still the same after I left it two years ago. Come on, let's get in."  
  
Parking his bike in the nearest lane, he guided the sleepy looking youth to the ghastly looking building. Despite all of its occupants had left; the authority took no action to demolish the building. Ken was thankful for this. To him, the place held too much memory. His parents... school.... soccer.... friends..... and many other things.  
  
The electricity supply was already cut after he left for Weiss Kreuz. After rumpling the place in darkness, Ken finally found some candles and lit up his room. Then he started fumbling in his wardrobe for something dry for him and Omi to change while Omi looked around the place.  
  
Curiously, Omi explored the 3-room apartment. Spider webs and dust coated the furniture and ceiling corners. A number of photo frames were neatly placed on the cabinet by the bed. Yes, photos of Ken in many stages of his life with his parents and friends before joining Weiss Kreuz. He was often seen laughing and happy, at least in the pictures.  
  
'Until his best friend betrayed him in a soccer match.' Thought Omi sadly.  
  
A bundle of fabric flew into his arms. Startled, he caught them.  
  
"There!" called Ken as he approached the youth: "Change before you catch a cold!"  
  
"Arigato, Ken-kun." Omi suddenly noticed a wet red patch on Ken's shoulder: "You're hurt! Let me bandage for you." He looked around and caught a gaze of the first aid box under the bed.  
  
"It's nothing, I.." Omi had already dragged Ken onto the bed and started pulling out contents from the first aid box. Luckily, there were medicine and cloth inside the box despite so long a period. Immediately, Omi cleaned the wounds with alcohol and bandaged them with extreme care. Ken almost absorbed himself as he observed Omi's serious expression throughout the bandaging process. How his little lips curled into a small frown at the injuries and his thick eyelashes flickered by the irritation of the remains of water near his eyes. He could not help smiling; the blond assassinator was dressing his wounds like it was the most important task for him in the world.  
  
Two drops of clear warm liquid spattered onto the bed sheet.  
  
"Gomen ne sai, does the wound hurt badly?" Omi's voice was choked.  
  
"Daijoubu, I'm pretty used to it." Ken laughed: "You needn't apologised about this."  
  
More drops of warm liquid fell, followed by soft sobbing.  
  
"Oi, Omi.."  
  
Omi's shoulder was shaking. He tried to dry his tears with the back of his hand but in no futile. It was then Ken realised that the water round Omi's eyes were not raindrops, but tears.  
  
"Omi..."  
  
"Go... Gomen ne sai, honto ni gomen, you wouldn't have got hurt... if not because of me....." Omi's voice was shivering badly now.  
  
Ken encircled his arms round the youth's back and pulled him close to an embrace: "It's alright, Omi, everything will be alright, ne?" He ran his injured hand behind Omi's head and pulled the boy's face into his chest: "Tomorrow night, we'll be having dinner with Ran and Yoji, 'K'? What do you want to eat? Sushi? Pasta? Steak?"  
  
"Liar." Omi muttered against Ken's chest.  
  
"I promise, I swear!" Ken mockingly pulled up three fingers into the air: "I'll become a bear if I don't fulfill that to my kawaii little Omi."  
  
Large blue eyes, still lined with drops of tears, looked up hopefully into the brown ones above: "Honto ni?"  
  
They fell silence for a second. Then they both laughed.  
  
Ken gently rubbed the tears from Omi's eyes: "So, do you have any idea to start, oh great leader?"  
  
"I have one possible place where the previous tapes were filmed. Those that announced our missions after the death of Persia."  
  
"Previous tapes after the death of Persia? You mean someone filmed the mission tapes and sent them to Manx in the name of Persia??!!" screamed Ken: "WHY didn't you tell us in the first place?!"  
  
"Would you all believe me?" Omi whispered sadly.  
  
"Omi...." Ken trailed off. He suddenly slapped Omi's back:" Oh, come on! Where's our spirit? Let's go before the Mastermind escapes! Yosh! Let's start!" He cried out and leaped off the bed excitedly as though he was going for an important soccer match.  
  
"Arigato, Ken-kun...." Omi gave a grateful glimpse.  
  
Unknown to him, a heartbreaking event was about to unfold..  
  
~ ~ + + + + ~ ~  
  
"Masafumi-sama, it is almost time for us to set off." Crawford said respectfully in a richly furnished living room.  
  
"Umph! The time has finally come, Crawford." Takatori Masafumi grinned, his eyes fixed onto a photo frame in his hand. It was a close up of Tsukiyono Omi attending to a customer in Koneko no Sumu Ie. The boy's eyes were not looking at the focus. Obviously, the photo was taken without his awareness.  
  
Placing the frame onto the nearest table, he got up to leave: "Make sure everything is in control, Crawford."  
  
"Hai." Crawford's eyes followed Masafumi out of the room and turned to look at Omi's photo.  
  
This was the first time he could see the blond hair youth at close proximity. His sparkling blue eyes and sweet smile was enough to melt the hearts of every soul. Crawford never knew he could be so captivated the boy's look. It seemed that the boy was surrounded by an aura for people to yearn for him, to touch him. He was too beautiful....  
  
Making sure that no one was around, he took down the photo, bringing it to his lips and placed them over the boy's.....  
  
~ ~ + + + + ~ ~  
  
(Strong warm arms cuddled the small frail figure as its owner stood out from the blazing building. The young boy in his arms was sobbing.  
  
"They.. they were all killed.. all because of me...."  
  
His protector said nothing. The blaze tongued and crackled, casting red light against his face, revealing it to be Persia's.....)  
  
A jerk woke Omi from his thoughts. He was riding on Ken's motorbike, his arms round the older teen's waist. The ride had stopped. Ahead, black clouds gathered across the horizon and a dark menacing looking factory stood before them. Although the rain had stopped, lightning was still sighted once in a while amidst the night sky.  
  
"Is this the place you were talking about, Omi?" Ken asked.  
  
"Hai." Omi took off his helmet and got off the bike.  
  
After checking the weapons, they entered the building.  
  
Suddenly, the air became cold and moist white mist rushed before Omi's eyes blocking his vision. Omi swung his arms frantically, but it refused to go away.  
  
"KEN-KUN!!" shrieked Omi fearfully: "WHERE ARE YOU?!! I CAN'T SEE YOU!!!!"  
  
To his horror, he received no reply.  
  
On the other side, Ken was equally panicked. No matter how he moved and called, he could neither see nor hear Omi. Everywhere, he saw white. It seemed that some unknown force was sent to separate them.  
  
"OMI!!!! OMI!!!!!!!" Ken screamed. There was no other sound, except the pounding of his heart and reverberation of his cries.  
  
Quick as it appeared, the mist dispersed as abruptly. Ken blinked. He was standing on an overhanging passage bridge, overseeing the central hall in the factory. He leaned forward the edge. The scene below froze his blood like ice.  
  
A familiar blond hair teen in blue mission jacket was pointing his crossbow at a honey hair lady in bounds and gag who was lying on the floor.  
  
Ken's eyes widened until they almost popped out of his skull when he realised who they were.  
  
Omi and Yuriko!  
  
A cold wide smile drew across the young assassinator's face like a venomous snake as he looked up to his friend standing above.  
  
"Surprise, Ken-kun." Omi smirked sarcastically: " Isn't this a nice present?"  
  
Ken could see the intense fear deep in Yuriko's eyes, pleading for his help.  
  
"Oi... Omi, what are you doing?" Ken stammered: "Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
"Ooh, in some way, yes." Omi's smirk widened: "Because I really appreciate your trust. Unfortunately, my Takatori blood seems to hold some of my father---Takatori Reiji's gene." His fingers round the trigger tightened.  
  
"I really want to thank you, Ken-kun," Omi smiled sweetly, but to Ken, the sweetness only disgusted him: "I thank you for trusting me so much."  
  
The trigger was released, an arrow stabbed Yuriko's chest. Her eyes widened. A mixture of pain and fear drifted in the depth of her green eyes.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ken's hysterical screams rang and reverberated in the empty air.  
  
(Yuriko looked earnestly into Ken's eyes by the swimming pool: "Because I can't leave you alone, you were so depressed as if you want to die any moment.")  
  
Ken, ignoring the height of the passage bridge above the hall, swung his body down the ground level.  
  
"How pathetic, you can't even save your girl...." Omi smiled. Another arrow was shot into Yuriko's forehead....  
  
("Something is bothering you. Do you mind sharing with me?" Yuriko leaned forward in the café.)  
  
"NOOOOOOO!!!! YURIKO!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
(Yuriko glanced longingly down from her apartment at Ken. Suddenly, she dashed down. At the same time, Ken rushed up and they hugged each other.)  
  
"OMIIIIIII!!!!!!!!! YOU SICK BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Omi's face bobbed upwards. He thought he could hear Ken calling his name. The mist had cleared as instantly as it appeared. He was now standing along a corridor.  
  
'Ken-kun, is he somewhere in a room to my right?' the blond hair teen wondered.  
  
Following his instinct, he turned a corner and came to an open hall.  
  
There was someone lying in a pool of red liquid. Blood! Her honey hair sprawled across the wet ground like golden flowers amidst a bed of red roses. Two arrows on her chest and forehead announced the new comer the cause of her death. She appeared oddly familiar.  
  
Omi walked forward. He could see fear and pain deep in her enormously widened green eyes. Omi gasped in shock.  
  
Yuriko! What had happened?  
  
Pain suddenly shot through his abdomen as something cold and sharp rushed through him. Omi looked down to see sparkles of silver claws through his stomach, glistering red with his own blood under the poorly lit factory light.  
  
Shock overcame his pain.  
  
"I've finally found you, Takatori Mamoru...." A cold voice said.  
  
...Takatori Mamoru... Takatori Mamoru... The name echoed in Omi's mind like eternity.  
  
It pierced him like the claws through his abdomen, reminding him his cursed heritage. He could not believe such name would come out from someone whom he had deeply trusted like Ken.  
  
"Ken... Ken-kun..." Omi stammered: "What has happened?"  
  
"You send her to Heaven, don't you remember that?" Ken's smirk was cold and cruel: "You took her life, with your own hands, don't you remember that?!" the last statement came out in a snarl. Omi looked into Ken's face. Lust for blood and anger burnt in his eyes like a hungry wolf.  
  
Instantly, Ken withdrew his claws and slashed Omi across his back.  
  
Omi's eyes saddened. Till this stage, he knew it was no use talking to Ken, to explain that he was framed, that he was not the one who caused Yuriko's death.  
  
A mirth smile curled in Ken's lips.  
  
"No use showing me your pretty puppy eyes, Mamoru, I will not fall for it again. I feel so stupid. Why did I trust you so much with all my life? Why don't you answer me, Mamoru?"  
  
One more slash into Omi's small body and another...  
  
"Ken-kun, doshite....." Omi silently muttered.  
  
His crossbow fell with a thump onto the ground.  
  
Red covered Omi's vision.  
  
(Ken encircled his arms round the youth's back and pulled him close to an embrace: "It's alright, Omi, everything will be alright, ne?" He ran his injured hand behind Omi's head and pulled the boy's face into his chest: "Tomorrow night, we'll be having dinner with Ran and Yoji, 'K'? What do you want to eat? Sushi? Pasta? Steak?"  
  
"Liar." Omi muttered against Ken's chest.  
  
"I promise, I swear!" Ken mockingly pulled up three fingers into the air: "I'll become a bear if I don't fulfill that to my kawaii little Omi."  
  
Large blue eyes, still lined with drops of tears, looked up hopefully into the brown ones above: "Honto ni?"  
  
They fell silence for a second. Then they both laughed.)  
  
'Liar,' Tears lined Omi's eyes: 'Everything is a lie.....'  
  
He had never feel so despondent in his life. He was the son of the killing monster-Takatori Reiji. He had killed his own brothers-Masafumi and Hirofumi with his own hands. Ouka died because of him. His uncle and savior- Takatori Shuichi or better known as Persia died in his arms. All members of Kritiker, including Manx who had watched him grow up, Fujimaya Ran and Kudou Yoji who had gone through life and death with him, all turned against him. And now, his closest and now only friend, Hidaka Ken did not believe his innocence.  
  
Darkness enveloped him.....  
  
Ken stood panting as the blond hair youth fell onto the ground, tears sparking through the air as he fell. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.  
  
(Omi stood under the Sakura trees as pink petals flew around him, waiting to lead the new comer Ken to the flower shop when the latter first joined as the member of newly formed assassination group-Weiss Kreuz. Shiny golden locks of hair flew in the wind gently and the boy reached a hand to hold it from his eyes. Ken stood breathless at the sight. A warm hand reached to hold Ken's and gentle smile flashed in his beautiful blue eyes.  
  
"Welcome to Koneko no Sumu Ie, Ken-kun.")  
  
Blood seeped down Omi's lips as a tear rolled down his cheek from his closing eyes.  
  
Memories-both sweet and bitter flashed in Ken's mind. Omi's every expression whenever they spent every moment together. His innocent smile, his concerned frown, his mischievous grin, his tears whenever Ken was injured during their missions.....  
  
A hysterical laughter exploded into the air.  
  
Ken's laughter.  
  
What a joke, what a great joke. Only a few hours ago, he was consoling and hugging the youth in his old apartment and now here he was, stabbing the very person he wanted to protect to his death.  
  
Abruptly, the laughter faltered, replaced by howls like a wounded wolf.  
  
'Ah, this is so interesting." Someone laughed heartedly and clapped as he entered the hall.  
  
Ken jerked slightly and turned to see someone he had been thinking in hatred for the past few days. Takashi Rei!  
  
Smilingly, the tall man walked towards the lifeless form of Omi. By instinct, Ken pounced and put a defensive stance before Omi. Despite his present hatred for Omi's act to Yuriko, he would not let anyone tarnish Omi's pure angelic body.  
  
To his horror, he found himself paralyzed.  
  
Smilingly, the man crouched besides Omi and ran his callused hand lovingly on Omi's smooth cheek.  
  
"So beautiful, so fragile. I can't believe I can still see you again, Mamoru... Your friends do not trust you at all, come with me then, I'll protect you with all my life."  
  
"Leave him alone!!" Ken barked furiously.  
  
"You still believe your girlfriend there was killed by Mamoru?" Takashi Rei suddenly called:" Treufel, you can come out now."  
  
A strange thought dawned in Ken's mind. He refused to accept the fact, but it seemed too late to shut himself from the truth.  
  
True enough, another 'Omi' stood out from the shadows, wearing the earlier smirk Ken had seen a moment ago. He reached a hand to pull down a mask, to reveal a cold face with brown hair.  
  
Treufel-Omi's classmate. The teen's eyes were dull and listless as he stared back at the former soccer player.  
  
The memory of his nightmare returned to Ken's mind, the nightmare of he stabbing Omi mercilessly.....  
  
~ ~ + +OMI'S POV + + ~ ~  
  
Darkness.  
  
I am floating in the sea of darkness. I have never feel so heavy and depressed ever since I first knew my real heritage. I am sinking deeper and deeper into darkness. I can feel coldness rushing into me. There is nothing for me to protect now. No friendship, no sense of belonging, I have nothing left.  
  
I have never feel like this, the only time was when I learnt I was abandoned and neglected by my father during my abduct in my childhood time. The same coldness, the same feeling of being unwanted in this world.....  
  
The world seems to end around me. I want it to end now.  
  
I want the cruel world to disappear in this instant.  
  
Something cold starts to flow within all my veins. I can feel my soul sinking further.  
  
Above, white feathers, freezing as snow, starts to fall around me.....  
  
I can feel something awake in me.  
  
The true me.  
  
~~ ++++ ~~  
  
Strange white aura shone through Omi's pale flesh as he rose bodily into the air. Translucent wings grew and spread from his back like plant shoots in spring.  
  
'What has happened?' Takashi Rei stared in shock as strange energy forced him further from the glowing youth. Treufel's eyes remained expressionless.  
  
'Omi, what happen to you? Why do I feel such strong despondence in the air? Is this how you feel now?' Ken thought.  
  
Aloud, he screamed: "OMI! OMI! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!!! OMI!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Omi suddenly snapped his eyes open. Blue light glowed in his large eyes ghastly in the dark and already cold hall. Instantly, rings of force radiated from the rising boy in the air. Chunks of concrete began to fall from the air. The entire place was shaking violently.  
  
Ken did not move. He was speechless from what was going on.  
  
Someone pulled him before a concrete collapsed onto him. It was Yoji. Subconsciously, he, Ran and Manx had stalked Ken and Omi to the factory.  
  
"OMI, YAMERO!!!!!!!!" yelled Ran. He tried to reach to Omi, but further wave of light kept him back. It seemed that there was a barrier between the boy from his surrounding.  
  
Omi's eyes became colder.  
  
"HE IS TRYING TO RUIN EVERYTHING!!!!!" Manx tried to scream amidst the chaos.  
  
Suddenly, a dark tall figure forced its way through the barrier and swung its arms round the suspending Omi.  
  
Ken gasped in shock.  
  
The person was none other than the 'late' Persia-Takatori Shuichi!  
  
"Dameyo, Omi! Your mother does not want to see you like this!"  
  
(A tall figure was carrying the crying Omi from the ruins of a burning building. The light shone to show his face to be Persia's....)  
  
Omi felt himself rising to the surface. Brightness flashed in his eyes.  
  
The glow stopped and his wings vanished instantly. Omi's eyes closed and he collapsed into Persia's arms. Abruptly, the earthquake stopped.  
  
"Uncle Shuichi....." Omi fluttered his eyes open and smiled weakly. His whisper was as soft as breeze: "..have you come for me...?" his eyelids closed again.  
  
"Welcome back, Omi..." Takatori Shuichi whispered in the sleeping boy's ear.  
  
"How touching," A voice loomed behind him: "Unfortunately, Mamoru is coming with me."  
  
To Persia's horror, he found himself unable to move. Staring into the face of Manx and the rest of the Weiss Kreuz members, he knew they were facing the same problem.  
  
He heard a cry of shock. It was from Yoji.  
  
Looking up, a familiar face appeared before him, taking the unconscious Omi from his hold. Persia's eyes widened. It was no wonder Yoji was in shock. This person was supposed to be dead.  
  
Takatori Masafumi!  
  
"I'll leave you people alive to witness the results of my art work," the supposedly-dead Masafumi grinned: "And you, Takashi Rei, I'll be waiting for the piece of work stolen by your ancestor to be returned. Look for me if you still want to see my precious ototo."  
  
"Bye, WeiB!" Schuldig waved mockingly. Together with the Schwartz, Takatori Masafumi left the hall with Omi in his arms.  
  
Takashi Rei clenched his fists angrily. He was so close in getting Mamoru and Masafumi ruined everything.  
  
Ken felt his tears running helplessly down his cheek.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! OMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
-- END OF CODE 10--  
  
Translation:  
  
Ototo - younger brother  
  
Yamero/Dameyo - Don't, no 


	11. Reunion

+CODE11: REUNION+  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Omi, Takatori Mamoru, Hidaka Ken or any character in Weiss Kreuz. I only own Takashi Rei (Actually Takashi Rei = me Southpark! Heh! Just kidding). Oh, and I DO NOT own Treufel (shocking? You'll know why in the later chapters). So DO NOT sue me, I'm trying to pay off my study loan and can't afford any more blows from suing...... sniff! Warning: RATED PG for yaoi and slight incest implication (if you still call it after reading).  
  
THEME: 'Gluten' from 'Weiss Kreuz' Gluten opening  
  
Pairing: Ken/Omi, Takashi Rei/Omi, Crawford/Omi, slight Masafumi/Omi (Mamoru)???? (Mah! I love pairing big evil characters with cute little Omi), Omi/Aya-chan  
  
Now onto the story!  
  
// // means telepathy thoughts  
  
( ) means quick flashbacks  
  
' ' means thoughts  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
I have been wandering in the Under World for decades.  
  
Dark. Anger. Thirst for my incomplete aim. They all grew in me second by second. I roared. I screamed. I wanted to vent my frustration. But for twenty years, I knew I was already dead.  
  
Finally, voices of my juniors brought me back to mortal world; well, almost, calling for my return through the body of a young girl by the name that I've known later as Fujimaya Aya.  
  
Before the ritual could complete, four young assassinators named Weiss Kreuz killed my juniors.  
  
Is it a fate or fortune that the ritual was far from completion?  
  
My soul managed to return to the mortal world. Instead of entering into the body of Fujimaya Aya, my soul found its way to a better body. Despite that this body was almost dead, its mind, for some reasons, was very much active and alive. And many a time, I find myself at wars with the real owner of this body.  
  
Through this body, I finally found a child who could complete my curse that had been interrupted twenty years ago. It is strange that this child possesses the element that can achieve the aim of my plan what I failed to succeed many years ago.  
  
The child's name is Tsukiyono Omi—happening to be the youngest member of Weiss Kreuz, the assassination team that aimed to bring down my sect – Eszett.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
~BANG!~  
  
A fist hammered hard onto the desk in a commercial office, causing a cup of coffee that had been recently served to him to topple off the surface.  
  
"Now, now, Takashi-sama," A female voice laughed: "It's not the end of the world yet. You can always get Takatori Mamoru back."  
  
Takashi Rei glared and looked out of the window as if the approaching woman was invisible.  
  
A long slender hand reached to touch his back. He immediately shrank from her touch instantly as if it was acid.  
  
"Have you started to remember something?" His voice was calm.  
  
"What do I remember? I only remember you saving me under the piles of stones and giving me the opportunity to practice my knowledge in chemistry and physics and nothing else."  
  
"How is Asuka doing?"  
  
"Still rebellious as ever. I've locked her up in the basement. When are you going to carry out the 'trial' to her?"  
  
"Her mind is getting more resistant to my drug. The last time it worked and she went to aid that psychologically insane rat and when I thought she recovered her consciousness through her almost death from her former detective partner's strangle, she regains her memory and starts to flee from me again."  
  
Yes, what is so good about Takatori Masafumi? He is only a fellow classmate of mine to a famous chemist professor in Tokyo University.  
  
"Tot? Where is she now?" Takashi Rei asked.  
  
"That child is still locking herself in her room. She seems very reluctant to return back to you. You are after all her real father."  
  
'That little brat, she must be still thinking about that psychological insane rat as her father again!' Takashi Rei grinded in his thought.  
  
The worst is, that rat is now holding my beloved Mamoru!  
  
"Treufel seems restless since her return with you from the warehouse. Does that Weiss boy means so much to her?" The lady asked.  
  
"Keep a close watch on her. She is after all, an important shield to Kritiker. And," Takashi Rei paused: "Let her continue her disguise as a boy. The truth can't be leak to other people yet."  
  
"Yes, I understand," The lady moved out from the shadow, revealing a lady in full office suit with spectacles, her cold eye-piercing stare gleaming through her lens. It was Hell.  
  
An eerie grin drew across her lips: "I'll see to it, Takashi-sama."  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
News report.  
  
"3:45 A.M.  
  
The entire island of Japan encountered one of the worst earthquakes in history with a Richter scale of 7.5. Many important buildings collapsed. At least 340 people were reported killed and 1000 injured. The number of people missing is still unaccounted. The death and injury poll is expected to rise.  
  
Riots, murders and many Residents openly destroy shops and vehicles, stealing things from within. The cities of Tokyo and Kobe are now lapsing into the state of fear and unrest. Religious leaders say that it is the act of their Gods and thousands are lured to seek consoles and hope in these organisations. Many blame our government for its helplessness in responding to the sudden disaster.  
  
Our government is facing the greatest challenge to restore peace to the cities. If necessary, Diet government is considering seeking international aid to control the chaotic situation. Germany is the first to offer its assistance to our government. This is the scene of the talks between the German prime minister and our senior ministers in Tokyo........."  
  
Yoji switched off the television and started pacing up and down along the slightly cracked walls in Koneko no Sumu Ie: "Now what has happened to this place? It is almost like the end of the world!"  
  
"This is only a small effect from Omi's strength." Manx said calmly.  
  
"Chi!" Yoji glared. There was too much things kept secret from Weiss.  
  
"Time to spill out the truth, Persia." Ran said coldly.  
  
"It's too early to tell yet, Ran." Persia said coolly as he stared in his thoughts from the sofa before the television in the basement.  
  
"Ken is going almost crazy with Omi's captive in his room and the effect of Omi's eruption is destroying almost all the city, you says that it is TOO EARLY to tell???" Yoji screamed and stormed at Persia, but Birman held him back.  
  
"Why are you hiding the truth of your survival from us? Is there anything to do with Eszett?" Ran asked.  
  
"Yes. I had expected Reiji to shoot me and I've worn a bulletproof coat before confronting me." He motioned to Birman's direction: "I contacted Birman who was stationed in Berlin at that time."  
  
Birman added: "Botan and I picked Persia up immediately after the four of you left the office. Since then, Persia had been filming videos in the warehouse for every mission and passed all the tapes to Manx and me so that we can convert the messages to you. You know, the warehouse we have left last night?"  
  
"You went to look for Reiji to fake your death so that you can investigate Eszett by yourself more conveniently?" Ran raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes." Nodded Persia untruthfully.  
  
Ran did not suspect him. He knew Persia always acted out of ordinary.  
  
Little did he know, there was something more behind Persia's visit to Takatori Reiji. Something that concerned Omi's real family background.......  
  
"I am very sorry for Botan's death too." Persia said solemnly: "But he will not die for nothing."  
  
"What about Botan's missing daughter?" Ran suddenly questioned.  
  
"Onnichan!" Aya's voice suddenly rang from the top of the spiral staircase: "What has happened to Omi-kun? Why does Ken lock himself in his room? Did you kill Omi-kun?!"  
  
A series of footsteps peddled down the wooden steps as the tearful looking Aya ran to shake her elder brother's shoulder. Ran stared at her.  
  
"Where is Omi-kun!!!" Aya demanded tearfully: "What have you all done to him?!!!"  
  
"He is kidnapped, but he will be safe." Ran replied calmly.  
  
Aya heaved a sigh of relief. Her face suddenly became fearful and her tug resumed again: "Are you going to kill him when he comes back?"  
  
"I don't know, but I promise we'll get him out of the kidnappers safe and sound, okay?" Yoji cooed at the other side of the basement, throwing a glance at Ran.  
  
Aya looked at each of them, not knowing what to say. She looked at Ran. He did not look at her.  
  
"You'll not kill Omi-kun, will you?" She asked hopefully.  
  
"I cannot promise." Ran said firmly.  
  
Aya glared angrily at her brother: "I HATE YOU!!!!" She ran off to her bedroom.  
  
Takatori Shuichi glared.  
  
(FLASH)  
  
(Doctors and nurses stared wide-eyed, forgetting their supposed tasks before them.  
  
A young dying boy with a respirator over his nose and mouth lay on the surgery bed, unconscious. There was a burnt gun wound on his forehead, yet he was still alive. His breath was ragged and weak. Tubes and wires penetrated all over his frail body.  
  
On the screen, his protein cells grew in alarming speed. Much to the Kritiker doctors' shock, the boy's wounds began to close and his pulse stabilized.)  
  
(ANOTHER FLASH)  
  
(Takatori Shuichi and Manx watched from a viewing glass as a psychologist, on the other side, hypnotized a semi-conscious seven-year-old boy in an enclosed room.  
  
"He must never remember his past." Manx had told the psychologist: "Especially the weeks before and after his 'death' during his kidnapped."  
  
"Yes, I'll make sure that only a fake memory of his uncle saving him from the kidnappers is installed in his mind." The man nodded.  
  
Cold-eyed, Takatori Shuichi watched and listened to their conversation.)  
  
"Just like what Manx had did to Kaori to forget Weiss's existence (see OVA)." Persia thought inwardly.  
  
What if...... what if Mamoru, what if Omi knows about this? It will definitely hurt him a hundred, no, a thousand times more than when he recalled Takatori Reiji's refusal to pay his ransom.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
Crawford looked through a wide bulletproof glass across the room where Tsukiyono Omi laid unconsciously. He was still wearing his mission coat. Takatori Masafumi was forbidding anyone to near Omi, not to mention touching him.  
  
The boy was breathing evenly on the soft bed. His long lashes eyes revealing a sense of peacefulness as he dozed in his slumber, his hands resting lightly on his chest.  
  
Crawford narrowed his eyes.  
  
//He doesn't trust us at all, Crawford.// Schuldig's voice penetrated his mind.  
  
"Agree." Crawford smirked.  
  
// Look at the way this boy is locked. No one except him can open the entrance to the room. //  
  
// It is heavily protected by passwords and heavy materials. I wonder what is he thinking now? //  
  
"Stop complaining." Masafumi's voice rang from behind: "You do not know how cunning Takashi Rei is. He'll come to take Mamoru-chan away at all cost. I'm expecting him to come anytime now. And your job....."  
  
Masafumi draped his arms over Crawford and Schuldig's shoulders: "........ is to make sure Mamoru does not leave this room. Is that understood?"  
  
"Wait, the sleeping beauty is awaking." Schuldig suddenly smiled. A strange light suddenly shone in Masafumi's eyes and instantly vanished, but Crawford had seen it all.  
  
Omi did not stir in his bed.  
  
"Oh, just kidding." Schuldig smirked: "I have a rather poor eyesight."  
  
"Really? Just make sure the little boy does not escape under your nose or you'll get it from me. Understand?" Masafumi tried to hold back his anger at Schuldig's prank and walked off.  
  
// See that? Even his elder brother is obsessed with him.// Schuldig smirked.  
  
//What do you mean 'even'?// Crawford responded.  
  
//I thought someone here is looking longingly at our sleeping beauty here. Look at this little angel, so pure and beautiful, it is no wonder that even our Crawford here is interested in him........// Schuldig mocked innocently.  
  
//Shut up, Schuldig. Who's the one who says that Mamoru looks dashing in feminine clothes?//  
  
"But really, our sleeping beauty is awaking." Schuldig said.  
  
"The same old trick cannot be used twice, Schuldig," Crawford said: "Ever heard of the story about 'a boy call wolf'?"  
  
"But it's true." Schuldig laughed and pointed. Crawford turned to look.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
"Takatori Mamoru........ Takatori Mamoru......."  
  
A cold voice, resembling that of Hidaka Ken's, revolted in the sea of darkness.  
  
Unexplainable emotions ran through him.  
  
Disappointment. Remorse. Pity for himself.  
  
What has he done to deserve all these betrayals?  
  
First, his father. Then his brother—Takatori Hirofumi, Kritiker, Ran, Yoji and now, Ken. Who can he trust in this world? There is no one to live for anymore.  
  
The corpse of Yuriko lying on the ground flashed before his eyes. Wide horrified eyes. It was not a wonder that Ken would lose his sanity.  
  
Yoji's look. His concern for Omi did not diminish even when he was commanded to kill the boy.  
  
Ran's eyes. Although it was cold, a faint glint of warmth lingered deep inside, proving that despite he had to follow the instruction as a leader, he did not want Omi to suffer too long.  
  
No, everyone still cares; it's just his poor fate, his poor life.  
  
"Dameyo, Omi! Your mother does not want to see you like this!" Persia's voice rang through his mind.  
  
My mother, how does she look like? I can hardly remember at all.  
  
Persia, are you still alive? Or am I dead?  
  
Light flashed before his eyes as he suddenly snapped his eyes open.  
  
Greeted before him was a comfortable looking bedroom with a large mirror besides his bed. Little did he know it was a one-sided view glass from outside.  
  
Startled, Omi sat up in bed. He was still in his mission attire, but his darts and crossbow was gone. His eyes darted around the room frantically. Besides, the bed he was now sitting, there was a table, a chair and some richly looking decorations that were insufficient to use as a weapon.  
  
Where was he now?  
  
"Oji-san! Are you around? Where am I?" Omi called, hoping to see Persia and he struggled out of bed. Strangely, the wounds from Ken had disappeared as if they were not there. All his pains were gone.  
  
Omi walked straight to the door and tried to pull it open. It was locked. Angered by his unknown circumstances, he started to bang the door with his small body.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
"Ohhh, our little kitten is agitated." Schuldig grinned, beginning to entertain himself by reading Omi's mind.  
  
"So, my ototo has awakened, hasn't he?" Masafumi's voice suddenly appeared from behind: "I've been looking forward to my reunion with my Mamoru-chan. You two may take your leave now."  
  
//My, he is talking just like his dead old man—Takatori Reiji.// Schuldig telepathised to Crawford.  
  
Masafumi's eyes suddenly turned bright gold. His voice was slow and menacing, "Do you get my message? Get out of here. Now."  
  
"We understand, Mr. Takatori." Crawford smiled with a light bow, pulled Schuldig and retreated back to the main hall.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
"Welcome back, Mamoru-chan." A strange familiar voice called and the door slided open.  
  
Omi tried to slip past the newly arrived, but the door slided shut. His curious blue eyes looked up and met the sly face of his 'dead' elder brother—Takatori Masafumi.  
  
"Urggh!!!" As if touched by fire, Omi jumped away from the supposedly dead.  
  
"What's the matter, Mamoru-chan?" Masafumi grinned: "Haven't we been playing together when we were young?"  
  
Conveniently, Masafumi pulled a curtain covering the mirror in case any of the Schwartz returned. His smile widened as Omi backed fearfully against the wall.  
  
Masafumi closed his distance between him and Omi and pressed a hand besides Omi's face to block his escape.  
  
"Mamoru-chan." Omi felt Masafumi's face too close, their noses almost touching: "I miss you so much, Mamoru-chan. We hung around together a lot, more than you with Hirofumi aniki."  
  
"What do you want?" Omi felt ashamed of his shaky weak voice: "I don't remember anything at all and you are supposed to be dead."  
  
"I am, but there is something about our uncle Shuichi that you never know." Masafumi's face was now semi-darkened by the block of ceiling light as he leaned towards Omi: "I've come to rescue my beloved ototo from that cheater."  
  
A flash came into his mind.  
  
Under a rusty metal beam, a child was running, panting heavily.  
  
His fear in his eyes grew as a man in silhouette pointed a silver pistol at his forehead.  
  
"Sayonara, Mamoru-kun."  
  
The fingers pulled the trigger and shot the boy in his forehead.  
  
"Sah, you've finally remembered that part, don't you?" Masafumi grinned.  
  
"Doshitte........" Omi stammered, wide-eyed in shock.  
  
"Doshitte nani?" Masafumi's grin widened.  
  
Omi felt exhausted and his body sank down onto the ground, but Masafumi held him by his shoulder.  
  
"I really care for you, Mamoru-chan," Masafumi whispered affectionately: "What ever memories you've been fed has been nothing but fake. Your uncle did not save you in time when you were kidnapped. You were shot in your head, Mamoru-chan."  
  
"No....." Omi writhed weakly, clenching his head in pain.  
  
"I can't imagine how much other important memories our Uncle Shuichi has erased from your mind, Mamoru-chan."  
  
"No, stay away from me......" Omi writhed, almost sobbing: "I need to think."  
  
"Alright, I'll come back again. And remember, I'm the only one in the world who really care for you."  
  
Omi felt himself been supported onto the bed and the hold was released from him. A series of shoes trotted across the room, followed by the sound of door opening and closing. Then, silence.  
  
Omi curled himself onto the bed and sobbed silently. All his belief, his faith collapsed. So, all along, his memories were nothing, but false information input by his Uncle, the only person he had trusted all his life.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
"BAD NEWS, BAD NEWS!!!!" Aya-chan screamed frantically as she stormed into the mission room.  
  
"Calm down, what is it?" asked Manx.  
  
"A note!" Aya waved a piece of paper in the air: "It's Ken. He said he is going to rescue Omi-kun by himself!"  
  
"WHAT?" Yoji yelled: "What the hell is that kid thinking?"  
  
Ran narrowed his eyes.  
  
~ + + + + ~  
  
Amidst the cold weather night, a nineteen-year-old young man with sharp bugnuks was riding his motorcycle against the howling wind.  
  
"Wait for me, Omi," He grinded in his thoughts: "Wait for me. I've yet to confess my feeling to you."  
  
~ + + TBC + + ~  
  
AN: Alright, this is a short and boring chapter, to build a background for my next few chapters. So I'm not expecting reviews from this chapter, sigh..........  
  
TO REVIEWERS' NOTES:  
  
chibi_kai_fan : Thank you for your encouragement, I guess there's very few who really think like you. But nevertheless, I'll try my best to complete this fanfiction. Arigato!  
  
Apocalipticoblivion: Arigato! I also feel my fic rather confusing, coz there's too many things I want to add in my fic and my language sucks. I'm still struggling to get my plot out. Honto ni arigato, for encouraging me, smile! (  
  
Kasra: Arigato for giving me such detailed analysis for my fanfiction. I really appreciate it; smile. Hope you've enjoyed my fic, p.s. not sure if you've seen my email a few months ago.  
  
sou : I haven't got the chance to watch Gluhen, coz its eating computer space and my pc sucks! But I do manage to watch its opening video and download its opening theme in mp3 format, the atmosphere's so cool, but I'll still prefer the 'old' cheerful looking Omi with blue eyes and honey colour hair than the gray colour hair one! I also manage to see its characters from other sites. Sene (I'm surprising that his voice is played by my favourite artist who does that for Inuyasha and Kudo Shinichi) is added as an important role in the anime. Hopefully, its VCDs can be released in all countries. But poor luck for me for my country is too strict for yaoi content animes. Bet you can guess where I'm from now. I'm working on the plot for Omi's acceptance of his role as an assassinators but this is gonna take time. Not too sure whether you're still busy with studies, so I doubt if you have the time to beta read for me. But really, thank you for offering your help.  
  
Blade6: Glad u enjoy my chap! I admit I'm torturing cute sweet innocent Omi way~ too much, hhhhhatee meee...... (juz kidding, LOL)!  
  
Moonfairy2000: Thankz for ur support (smile)!  
  
Tsukisamu Sayako: Geez, arigato, I'm an Omi-torturer. Teehee! 


	12. Contradicting Feeling

CODE12: CONTRADICTING FEELING  
  
Disclaimer: Same old words. I do not own Takatori Mamoru, Tsukiyono Omi and any characters from Weiss Kreuz, or Fujimaya Ran and Hidaka Ken will be fighting over (Mamoru) Omi like Tooya and Yuuhi over Mikage Aya in 'Ayashi no Ceres', okay? The two make-up names—Takashi Rei and Treufel are created to facilitate the appearance of the hidden characters mentioned by Tot and Botan in anime series.  
  
Rated: PG  
  
Pairing: Ken/Omi, Crawford/Omi, Masafumi/Omi, maybe Ran/Omi  
  
Theme: 'Seaside Suicide' by Yuuki Hiro (Tsukiyono Omi)  
  
means telepathy thoughts 

( ) means flashbacks 

' ' means thoughts

  
  
'Omi, I am going to save you. No matter how difficult it will be, even if it means costing my life, I will never let you leave my side. Never ever.......'  
  
Along the street of Shinjuku, the words, like songs on radio, circulated in Ken's mind.  
  
Wither leaves flew down the trees as wind blew. The scene, like a playback of an old movie, was shrouded in yellowish light.  
  
The seven-year old Mamoru ran happily out of the Takatori mansion. He tripped and fell onto the ground. His eldest brother—Hirofumi ran to help the child up and brushed the dirt off his shirt. Mamoru looked over his brother's shoulder and laughingly ran towards his second elder brother—Masafumi. Masafumi was holding a butterfly by its wings.  
  
Suddenly, Masafumi tore the insect apart. Mamoru stood back in silent fear at his brother's cruelty. Masafumi got up and consoled the boy. Pulling and cooing the child by his hand, he led the child to his personal laboratory amidst a cluster of eerie looking forest.  
  
"I don't want to go, nii-san!" Mamoru tried to pull himself away from his elder brother.  
  
"It's going to be fun, Mamoru, you'll enjoy yourself thoroughly." Dark ecstasy light of craze glowed in Masafumi's slanted eyes. Like the Black Hole in the mysterious galaxy, his pupils started to spread all over in his eyes like gathering clouds before the eve of a thunderstorm.  
  
"YAMETE!!!!!!!"  
  
Immediately, the yellowish light covered mansion vanished, followed by trees, then Masafumi. But his eerie black shiny eyes lingered in the air with his laughter for a while before they disappeared.  
  
Then, black.  
  
Omi bolted up in bed. Dizziness swept over him. He felt his throat running dry. His forehead was burning hot.  
  
'I must be running with fever after running in the rain over the entire night.' Dull blue eyes stared blankly at the locked door and then at the clock at the fireplace.  
  
'I wonder what's the time now?' Omi thought as he got out of bed unsteadily. His legs felt like jelly under him. He grabbed the side of the bed just in time before he hit facedown onto the floor.  
  
Just then, he caught sight of a hidden needle like camera behind the clock. He felt a small smile blooming within him.  
  
He had never hacked into a security system by himself before.  
  
In his scrutiny of the dark office within the regional traffic police station, Hidaka Ken tapped furiously on the computer keyboard, staring attentively at the screen at the same time.  
  
He was thankful that there were traffic cameras along the roads. In this way, he could trace the route of Masafumi's vehicle on the day he and the Schwartz abducted Tsukiyono Omi.  
  
The car had turned and disappeared round a bend where there was no further record of its trace. Ken grinded his teeth. There must be some other ways to track down where Masafumi was taking Omi.  
  
"You never will find Masafumi in this rate." A cold feminine voice said.  
  
"Schreient!" Ken caught sight of an elegantly dressed lady in spectacles and office wear leaning against the main exit with her arms crossed. Hell gave a mysterious smile.  
  
She held out a piece of paper. "Go to this place. He is probably there together with your friend. Don't ask me further question. There is no time."  
  
Ken stared, snatched the paper and dashed out of the door.  
  
Behind him, Hell's smirk widened.  
  
Loud siren whined hysterically, breaking the silence of the building and announcing the breakout of a fire in Omi's room.  
  
Masafumi reached quickly to a little CCTV in his room overseeing the event in his younger brother's room to catch a glimpse of the small unconscious form of Bombay lying facedown on the ground, heavily surrounded by black smoke and fire.  
  
"MAMORU!!!!" Masafumi yelped and made a dash to Omi's room, barking orders to his men and Schwartz as he did so. Takatori Mamoru was not going to die in his arms yet.  
  
The door was instantly broke down under Masafumi's familiarity of all passwords and systems. Without waiting for his men to put out the fire, he rushed into the room, loaded the unconscious Omi into his strong arms and fled the room at the same time to a ready stretcher.  
  
"GET MAMORU TO THE TREATMENT ROOM NOW!!!!!!" Masafumi roared at the waiting nurses. Ignoring the people putting out the fire, he ran along with the bed- ridden Omi towards the operation room. Omi was frighteningly pale. Although there was no visible burn on the boy, there was no colour of blood in his face and lips.  
  
Bending his face nearer Omi's, Masafumi called: "Mamoru, Mamoru, can you hear me?"  
  
A strange pain pierced into the skin in his neck, followed by dizziness. Masafumi's eyes widened with astonishment, Omi's hand was holding a small needle besides his face.  
  
Omi weakly opened his eyes. "....Arigato, nii-san, for saving my life. Don't worry, this is only a sleeping drug." Climbing out of the bed, he pushed the stunned nurses aside and made his way out of the building.  
  
'Wait for me, jii-san, I must talk to you personally.' Omi thought.  
  
"Where are you going, Weiss?" Nagi's voice appeared behind him.  
  
'Oh no, trouble number one!' Omi gasped and increased his pace, trying to ignore the unbearable throbbing in his head.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Nagi snickered. A wave of force crashed across the passage, sending Omi fly forward and banged facedown onto the floor.  
  
Omi dug his fingers into his shoe, pulled out a dart and shot Nagi, successfully distracting him a short moment before he made his escape.  
  
"Where is Mamoru going?" Omi heard Crawford's voice asking behind him.  
  
Omi did not dare to look back and bolted through the fire escape door.  
  
"You will never run away from us, Mamoru." Omi heard Crawford's confident voice echoed from above. "Because your activity is within our control."  
  
A leg slipped beneath. Omi screamed as he tumbled down the steps until his body rolled onto the resting ground between the two staircases. Pain twined all over him.  
  
"It hurts me to see you injuring yourself so much, Mamoru." Crawford sighed as he walked causally down towards Omi. "Don't you know how much I care for you?"  
  
'Quit your stupid nonsense and shut your mouth up.' Omi cursed under his breath and shot out of the nearest exit door.  
  
There was a loud crash.  
  
Crawford ran after the boy. There was a large hole on the glass window overlooking the Olympic size swimming pool before the building.  
  
"You'll never escape from my grip, Mamoru." Crawford suddenly smiled.  
  
Under the chaos created from the countrywide earthquake, all cities in Japan sank into a state of Emergency. Riots were so common that security points had to be set every road point to ensure discipline. Curfew was imposed.  
  
Dripping and thoroughly soaked to the skin, Omi slipped into the street, making his way to the florist shop, hoping to find Persia, at the same time, fearing the fatal confrontation of Fujimaya Ran. The street was ghastly deserted, like an abandoned town after a volcano eruption.  
  
Amidst the pink streak across the sky, dawn was breaking. But, what time was it, Omi did not know.  
  
"Stop, do you know that no one is allowed to go into the street before 9a.m.?" A military man called out at Omi when he attempted to pass a checkpoint.  
  
Omi blinked, partially from his fever dizziness, and partially not understanding.  
  
Another man in military uniform moved behind Omi and handcuffed him without warning.  
  
Apprehension grew in Omi's childlike face.  
  
"Sorry, kid, we have to put you under detention." The man explained.  
  
Omi tried to struggle, but like an iron grip, the men half dragged or half carried Omi to the nearest vehicle to send him to the detention cell.  
  
One man's eyes suddenly went blank and collapsed onto the ground, revealing the tall form of Hidaka Ken.  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi whispered in surprise. The other man fell before he could attack the bugnuks armed man.  
  
Ken reached forward and pulled the stunned looking boy into a tight hug. "Gomen ne sai, Omi, I'm late! Gomen ne sai!" Omi's burning forehead touched Ken's shoulder. "Oh my gosh, you are burning hot!"  
  
"You are not going to kill me?" Omi whispered weakly. "What is going on here?"  
  
"It's a long story. All along for months, the entire military has fallen under Takatori Masafumi's control. None of us have known about this. I only got to learn this when I overheard one military general communicating with this man over their radio about something like new orders from Takatori Masafumi to catch you alive."  
  
Ken supported Omi in his arm and slashed the handcuffs open with his bugnuks. "We have to hurry. The Schwartz is on the way here."  
  
"Too late, Weiss, we are here to collect Takatori Mamoru." Farfarello's voice appeared.  
  
Startled, Ken lifted his eyes to see the grinning Irishman with Crawford standing behind with a small smile.  
  
"I'll never let you take Omi away from me again!" Ken roared and pulled Omi behind him protectively.  
  
"We'll see who's getting the last laugh." Crawford smirked.  
  
Farfarello snarled and sprang at Ken.  
  
Ken's eyes darted for Omi and widened to see Crawford moving towards the helplessly weak younger boy.  
  
"Omi, RUN!!!!!!" Ken screamed and lunged to pull Omi with him to run together, but Farfarello's attack kept him away from Omi.  
  
Helplessly, he could only watch as Crawford forcefully grabbed Omi by his wrists, handcuffed the boy and pulled him into a waiting black sedan.  
  
"OMI!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Crawford's smirk widened as he looked at the fearful looking boy sitting besides him.  
  
"Leave Ken-kun out of...." Omi started. His large blue eyes widened as the American reached forward and caressed his lips against his own.  
  
"You are down with fever."  
  
"That's none of your business!!" Omi retorted angrily. "Don't dream of bringing me back to Masafumi...."  
  
"I'm not taking you back, I'm going to bring you to Germany." Crawford gave a strange smile. His sedan roared into life.  
  
Omi glared fearfully back at the shrinking form of fighting Ken and Farfarello.  
  
"Not so fast, Schwartz." A cold voice called. A blade drew through the ceiling of the sedan as though it was made of cloth. A long slash appeared to reveal Fujimaya Ran's cold face. Red hair flew wildly across his pale face as the sedan swerved dangerously to and fro on the road.  
  
"I'm glad to meet you for another fight, but I do not have leisure to do it today." Crawford grinned.  
  
"I'm not interested for a fight. I'm here to retrieve Bombay." Ran said coldly.  
  
"Retrieve Bombay? Or to retrieve Bombay's corpse?" Crawford laughed mockingly.  
  
Ran made a final cut on the roof and chopped at Crawford who ducked away just in time. The sedan flew towards a down slope. Ran's slant eyes narrowed, shot a wire to the nearest tree, pulled Omi by his waist and flew out of the sedan. Crawford jumped out just in time.  
  
Omi stared as the black sedan fell. An image of a fear-streaked lady in Japanese kimono with blond hair and blue eyes spread her hand forward overlapped Omi's vision of the falling sedan.  
  
Omi's blue eyes widened.  
  
The image, as instantly appeared, vanished.  
  
'Who is she?' A strange thought came into Omi's mind. She looked so unfamiliar, yet so close.  
  
Explosions from the hit sedan, followed by waves of heat swept up the slope.  
  
Sliding coolly on his feet, Crawford moved swiftly towards Omi.  
  
Return back to the Headquarter now. We've got problem here.Schuldig's voice penetrated through Crawford's mind.  
  
Crawford's smile faltered. "Got to go for now. Will come back for Mamoru next time." With that, he leaped into the darkness.  
  
Omi's face darkened and spoke without looking at the Weiss unofficial leader. "You are going to kill me, aren't you, Ran-kun?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Omi pushed himself from Ran's embrace, but the older man refused to let go.  
  
"I need to see Persia. When everything's done, I'll return for you to take my life."  
  
Omi suddenly felt the red hair assassinator turned his shoulders so that the teenage archer faced him. "I never want to kill you, Omi."  
  
"Isn't this what you want? Didn't you say I'm a lead to destroy the city?"  
  
Omi yelped as Ran pulled Omi into a tight embrace and buried his face in the soft blond hair.  
  
Earnestly, Ran whispered: "Gomen, I've been forced to do that because someone has broke into the Kritiker's information system. If we remained ignorance of the break-in, we'll never know who the culprit is. Without knowing who and where this unseen enemy is, we are unable to protect you, Omi."  
  
"But you were so persistent in killing me then......"  
  
"I had left an anonymous note to Aya so that she would appear in the right timing to 'stop' me from killing you so that you can run away without enemy's suspicious."  
  
Tears welled up Omi's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier? I hate you."  
  
Ran tightened his embrace to the younger boy as he wept in his arms.  
  
As fast as Farfarello launched the attack, he suddenly abandoned his fight with Ken and ran off. Not sparing a time to breath, Ken ran towards where Crawford had left with Omi. As he ran, he heard some talking.  
  
"Ran! With Omi!" Ken exclaimed in fear. He knew how persistent the leader was in taking Omi's life as if Omi was Takatori Reiji himself. Fearing for Omi's life, he ran faster.  
  
".........Without knowing who and where this unseen enemy is, we are unable to protect you, Omi." Ran's voice said earnestly.  
  
Ken ducked behind a pillar and saw the embracing figure of Ran and Omi. There was unusual softness in Ran's eyes that he swore he had never seen Ran showing such tenderness with anyone else throughout their two years of assassination life.  
  
A strange thought rose in his mind.  
  
Maybe Ran was in love with Omi. Maybe Omi had already accepted Ran. This thinking brought a sour feeling within Ken. He had yet to confess his feeling to Omi and Ran had done it before him.  
  
At the same time, Takashi Rei, bringing along Treufel and Tot, were on their way to take Omi. In Takashi Rei's hand was a rolled stroll.  
  
In the secluded darkness, Masafumi smiled mysteriously, his strangely golden eyes glaring eerily in the room. He had drew the Schwartz back from their pursue so that his other target will meet up with his initial target.  
  
Everything was moving according to his plan. He was going to hit two birds with a stone.  
  
His smirk widened.   
  
TO BE CONTINUE.........   
  
Author's Notes:  
  
To sou: Glad to see you again! There is very few reviews here and there, but glad to see you reading my fic! I like 'Stone Roses', but for Weiss's slow songs, 'Beautiful Alone' is still my all time favourite. Omi is definitely better with his old looks, more innocent and sweet.  
  
To Blade6: Arigato!!!! I've not been writing much recently due to lack of ideas. Hope you enjoy this chappie, :p  
  
To all:  
  
Ohaiyo! After around 3 months of interval, I'm back with a new chapter again!! I'm currently doing 2 fics—'Project Angel' and 'Unwanted Desire' (only in mediaminer.org) simultaneously. Also my Inuyasha fic—'Obsession and love' is still incomplete since last year. I'm too busy with my real life. Maybe latest by end of Sept this year, I can continue all fics smoothly and complete my Inuyasha fic.  
  
I find Omi looking totally different from his half-brothers, father and uncle as well as half-sister in the anime. In fact, Omi does not look Japanese at all!! Blue eyes and blond hair, he looks more westernized than Brad Crawford! Never seen Omi's mother in colored photo, maybe Omi's mother—Kikuno is a Eurasian? She might have blond hair and blue eyes, you may never know, Omi's look could be 100% inherited from Kikuno's. I'm going a bit towards Ran/Omi; I can't hold my Ran/Omi lust anymore. Please don't kill me, Ken/Omi fans!! The main pairing will still be Ken/Omi, except I add some Ran/Omi, so it'll look a bit explainable for Ran's action to Omi despite Omi's tolerance and understanding to Ran. 


End file.
